To Raise a Vampire
by kittyface27
Summary: When Ace, Sabo, their crew, and young Luffy get accidentally stranded in the Grand Line, help comes for them. But, will the Whitebeard crew accept a CHILD vampire, something that is seen as highly taboo in the world, who also has some increasingly powerful abilities? And if they do, will the Spades in turn accept them? Lots of fluff and unrequited Ace/Marco on the side.
1. Nightly Life of Raising a Vampire

**Hi hi hi! Regular readers, who is surprised to see another child Luffy fic? lol NO ONE. This has tons of fluffyness in it with some dashes of angst with Ace and Sabo. It's 86,000 words, so I'll be posting it for awhile. Disclaimer about Luffy: His speech may be too advanced for a four year old, but I didn't feel like making the speech mistakes too much in this fic. Some OCs on the Spades crew, and some unrequited Marco/Ace love on the side. Enjoy~**

Luffy sucked his thumb while he was relaxed in Ace's arms, the tiredness of his sleep drifting away as what was left of the light of the sky darkened and disappeared completely. The moment the sun was completely gone, Luffy yawned and said, "Ace, down! Let's play!" Ace set him down as he asked and smiled at his brother.

"What do you want to play?" the eighteen year old asked with a grin. The grin was returned, though with Luffy's slightly sharper canines making his smile more… unique. Luffy put his finger to his chin in thought, his dark red eyes looking up, trying to come up with something to play.

"Tag!" Luffy cried and zoomed away, Ace chasing after him. Luffy erupted into giggles that were as nice sounding as wind chimes. Luffy wasn't good at focusing it yet, but he was in a sort, hypnotizing. His smile made you warm inside, his laughter was like music, and he even smelled nice. Everything a vampire had to lure in humans, Luffy possessed.

Ace caught him and tossed him high into the air, as the child was very light to Ace's strength. Luffy squealed and giggled, before he latched onto Ace's neck and grinned. His stomach growled, and he giggled again. "My tummy is hungry. It yelled at me," Luffy said.

"Want some breakfast now?" Ace questioned, already walking to the kitchen of their ship. The crew were not pirates. Not yet and not for awhile. As long as Luffy was still a vulnerable child, they were merely sailors. They flew no black flag or jolly roger. Luffy's safety came first. Always came first.

"Yeah! I want cereal," the toddler vampire said. Luffy, not being full vampire, could eat human food most of the time. He only needed blood once a week, and a small amount at that.

"Cereal, huh? What kind?" Ace asked as he walked with the boy, who wanted down to hold onto Ace's short's leg. He had a bounce in his step, but both were quiet now as much of the ship was asleep. Only a few people took night watch and slept during the day. This role as well took turns between the sailors.

"The flaky ones," Luffy replied as they entered the galley and kitchen. Ace sat Luffy on his seat. The older teen prepared the flaky cereal and milk, bringing over a glass of orange juice as well to the table and setting it in front of the little boy. Luffy gladly scarfed all of the food down, asking for seconds and then thirds.

Sine he had two meals a night, at sundown and sunset, he ate quite a lot during those times. He did sometimes wake up in the middle of the day, hungry and tired, but then he went back to sleep after eating.

Even though Luffy was part vampire, and no one else on the ship was, it was surprisingly easy to take care of the boy, despite how much trouble he liked to get himself into whenever possible. Feeding him was like feeding the rest of the crew, and he didn't have bloodlust like full vampires did. He was just a little boy, growing and maturing slowly, who only had to drink blood not often and had a different sleep schedule.

Even though he was part vampire, he was able to go into the sunlight for a very short amount of time, but it gave him bad sunburns, so he never went outside. He was three when he went outside the last time, and it had been painful for him. So, Ace and Sabo made a handicap for him and alternated their schedules for spending time and taking care of Lu.

Once Luffy was done with his food, belly stuffed full for most of the rest of the night, Luffy and Ace played more games before relaxing and Ace reading the boy his fairy tales. Sabo wrote new ones for Luffy often, many including vampires like himself as the good guys. The two did their best to keep Luffy away from being exposed to the human publics feelings of his kind.

Luffy was no blood thirsty and murderous vampire. He was just a sweet boy who had been caught up in an unfortunate situation while in the womb. Luffy lounged in Ace's lap on the boy's bed he shared with a brother while the stories were read to him.

"Ace? When's the next place?" Luffy wondered, thumb in his mouth still.

"The next island? It's an island that snows during winter, so we can go play in the snow at night. I'm sure both me and Sabo can go with you," Ace said with a smile. Luffy grinned. He rarely got to spend much time with both brothers. The three used to always be night owls, but once they got on a ship, one of the older teens needed to watch what was going on.

With the daylight longer than the night, one of them could spare spending some time with the other while Luffy slept. They spent that time catching up with captain duties and talking about Luffy. Said boy was now very excited to see snow again. He hadn't seen snow in a long time. Last time, he'd only been able to play in the snow that had fallen onto the ship.

"I can't wait! Be with Sabo _and _Ace!" Luffy cheered, wriggling in Ace's lap excitedly.

"Shh, we don't want to wake our friends," Ace shushed, though with a smile. Luffy covered his mouth with his hands. "Do you want to hear an adventure story instead of fairy tales?" Luffy nodded. They were both in Luffy's big bed in his cozy room with a wall of books bought for him. Ace reached over and picked out an adventure story that Luffy hadn't read yet since Sabo bought it recently.

Sabo would always read the books he considered buying for Lu to make sure they were child friendly. This story was about a boy who tamed a magic horse, and the two went on an adventure to find the treasure everyone was after. They battled magic beasts and overcame trials and troubles, all to find the treasure.

But the treasure was not gold or jewels, but the power to bring back a loved one you lost. The boy chose to bring back the horses family. He let the horse go with his family. Luffy was sad they parted, but Ace added to the story that the boy, who was a man by then, encountered the horse again, and he went on another adventure with his long lost friend.

Byt the time the long story was over, as there were many details and descriptions to it, Luffy was hungry for his dinner. "Ace, I'm hungry," Luffy said. Once he was hungry, Ace and Sabo knew he would be sleepy soon.

"Alright, Jojo made some yummy meat, do you want some?" Ace asked and he carried Luffy on his shoulders through the short hallway to the galley once again, passed the bedrooms of crew members. Luffy was set down and scurried to the refrigerator, where he pulled it open and looked inside, searching for the meat.

"It's up there!" Luffy declared. Ace smiled.

"Good job. Can you tell what kind of meat it is? If you can, I'll give you an extra cup of orange juice," Ace said. He knew Luffy could do it, or he wouldn't have given that condition. Luffy sniffed twice, before he confidently said it was chicken. "Another cup of orange juice for you, it is," Ace told the boy with a grin.

Ace warmed up the food with devil fruit and poured the small cup of orange juice with the lid and straw. Luffy followed him to the table, like a cat or dog wanting their food and following their owner around. Ace lifted Luffy to his seat as both of them ate the leftover food. They had a good cook, whose food always tasted fresh, even heated up after being frozen or put in the cooler.

"Jojo cooks yummy," Luffy said while he ate his food happily. Ace had to agree, and playfully stole a tiny piece of meat from Luffy's plate. Luffy looked scandalized. "Ace! That was mine!" he said, shocked that Ace would steal his food?! Ace chuckled, and handed Luffy a piece of his own, bigger than the one he stole.

"Sabo says stealing is bad, Ace. I'ma tell him and you'll get in trouble," Luffy threatened with a pout.

"Oh no, don't tell Sabo!" Ace said in acted horror. Luffy narrowed his eyes, taking the fear as serious.

"Fine, I won't tell him. But no stealing again or I will!" Luffy said as he shoved the last piece of meat into his mouth. Ace put his hand to his chest and sighed out in relief, thanking Luffy for being considerate.

Ace looked to the fridge and calendar, realizing it was the day Luffy needed to feed. It was a Sunday, and he always fed on Sundays. "Are you thirsty, Lu?" he asked. There was a difference between Luffy being hungry for food, and thirsty for blood. The vampire hadn't seemed to realize the thirst until Ace said something.

"Yeah," Luffy replied. Ace got up and took the empty dishes before going to fill the plastic bottle with Luffy favorite type of blood from one of their blood bags in the spare cooler in the pantry. He came back with the bottle of red liquid and a towel he tucked into Luffy's shirt like a bib.

Seeing the child drink blood didn't bother Ace or Sabo at all anymore. Ever since Luffy was born four years ago, he needed some blood, even if it was a mouthful when he was an infant, and now a small plastic bottle.

They all knew Luffy was a very different vampire than full ones. Ace was sure no one else was like Luffy. The circumstances were just too unique. The situation had had many variables. Who was involved, the motive, and how Luffy was birthed. It was all too much to be repeated in some other way.

After Luffy was done with the blood and went to brush his teeth in the bathroom, it was bed time as the sun was starting to rise. Ace and Luffy went back to the boy's room and got comfortable in the bed. Ace turned on the star night light that made light travel around the wall and ceiling in forms of stars. It had been quite expensive, but worth it since Luffy loved it.

Luffy fell asleep easily, like always, and was out for the rest of the day. Ace slept with him for a few hours before he was rested enough to go top deck and talk to Sabo and help with captain duties. He pulled the soft comforter higher up to Luffy's chin and made sure to close the curtain over the porthole fully so it didn't wake Luffy up.

The teen shut the door quietly behind him, after picking up the baby monitor and turning it on, clipping it to his shorts. It was how Luffy would call them if he woke up. Ace smiled at his baby brother and left down the halls and to lunch. That was when he usually woke up. Ate Luffy's dinner for his breakfast.

Everyone was in the small galley, all six members besides the brothers gathered and eating the chef's delicious food. Ace sat down at their only table, which was large enough for everyone to fit comfortably. This ship was not designed for a big crew. But that was the plan. Ace and Sabo didn't want a lot of people knowing about Luffy.

"How is Lu?" Sabo asked after saying good morning to his brother.

After Ace swallowed his first bite of food, he answered, "Good. He's happy we're going to go to snow soon. Told him I'd have both of us play with him. He fed last night, so he's good for another week." Sabo nodded. No one at the table reacted to Luffy being "fed", even though they knew it was drinking blood.

Luffy had proved to all of them he wasn't like normal vampires. He was no danger to them, and they all kept the secret. "Did he like the meat this morning?" Jojo asked as she ate her own delicious food. Jojo wore the most plain clothes of everyone on the crew. Plain colored T-shirts with black pants and sandals. Most of the time she had an apron on as well.

"Yeah, he really liked it. We're almost out of cereal, too," Ace informed. Jojo wrote down on a pad of paper another thing they needed to resupply.

Besides Jojo, the others on the crew all dressed very differently. Ace was the only one who never wore a shirt, the others either wore dresses or shirts. Sabo were fancy clothes, like he'd always favored even though he came from the same poor family as Ace and Luffy. His jacket had loops on the back for his pipe he used as a weapon, unlike Ace's flame powers.

Saber, the navigator and second most responsible person on the ship after Sabo, fought with two swords, and wore a cowboy hat and open blue shirt.

The twins, who were identical unlike Ace and Sabo, were the ones who were extremely experienced with guns. They each had multiple guns on them at all times. Slung over their backs, in holsters, tucked inside boots.

Though they kept the ammo separate in bags around their shorts. They refused to put the crew in any sort of risk, and were skilled at very quickly loading their weapons.

Their snipers were both extremely expensive, so they took utmost care of those. They had their own locked and special cases, kept in their room most of the time while they were on the ship. But they both dressed distinctly. Zeno and Sparky. Those were their chosen names, as they didn't like having their birth names similar. They did everything they could to be easily told apart.

The Spade ship didn't have a first mate, as it had two co-captains, but they had someone who could be considered third seat, Masked Deuce. He always wore a mask and had blue hair. Ace had given him his name when he had none, so Deuce was closest to Ace and Luffy.

He was the only one of the crew that the brothers trusted to be alone with Luffy completely. Being very close to Ace, he'd proven himself safe over the two years they sailed with him. At first, Deuce had thought Ace and Sabo were reckless and inconsiderate to have a two year old out on the sea with them, even if they were only sailing in the Blues. But, after learning some of the brothers' situation, he understood and vowed to help protect Luffy. After all, Luffy was the reason they left the island early.

Aggie 68 also cared for the three brothers, but was not as close to Ace as Deuce was. He was more friends with Jojo more than anyone else. He was the biggest crew member and the official doctor. Ace and Sabo were not nearly as tall as he was. He dwarfed Luffy's small size. He was only four after all. Aggie 68 used both a revolver and sword. He was most noticeable for this very thick sideburns and size.

Luffy was the only one on the ship that couldn't easily defend himself. Even if they weren't pirates, the condition for them joining was that they were trustworthy and strong enough to protect themselves, their captains, and above all, Luffy. The brothers had been very lucky to meet such good people in such a short amount of time. And, considering they were in the East Blue, the weakest sea, it was surprising to find strong members.

The captains and crew were coming up with a plan for their next island, who was going where. Ace and Sabo for once would both be with Luffy at night, and one will always stay with Lu when he was awake, so Ace would be the one going inland to help his crew gather the needed supplies, which included food, wood for repairs, and medication. And Ace was to sneak into the hospital they knew was on the island and swipe some blood bags. Ace was good at sneaking, and considering this was the East Blue, he didn't need to worry about hiding his presence.

They were all talking, food finished and in the kitchen to be washed, when the baby monitor went off. "_Ace, Sabo?" _Luffy's young voice asked over the device.

"What's wrong, Lu?" Sabo asked. They heard Luffy yawn and say, in a sleepy voice, "Water?" Sabo told Luffy he'd be right there with some water, and filled a glass from the sink, heading out of the galley and to Luffy's bedroom.

When he opened the door, Luffy was propped up against pillows against the headboard, looking very sleepy. Sabo walked over with a smile and set the sippy cup of water down on Luffy's night stand. "Here, Lu," Sabo said kindly. Luffy quietly thanked him with a smile, clearly very sleepy. As long as the sun was up fully, Luffy would always be tired.

"Sabo, do I get to come on the island this time?" the boy asked. Sabo smiled kindly and nodded.

"In a secluded area where we can play in the snow," Sabo replied, sitting on the bed and running his hand through Luffy's soft black hair. "Do you want to go inland?" Luffy nodded and frowned, his smile dropping and disappearing.

"Sabo, why can't I meet other people?" he asked, sounding surprisingly sad. Luffy was rarely sad. Sabo sighed quietly, though Luffy heard it with his enhanced senses.

Sabo touched Luffy's cheek with his thumb. The warm and soft skin of Luffy was very different than other vampires. "If people find out about you being part vampire, they might get upset. Even if the island was full of vampires, they might think you're a child vampire. A full one. That is frowned upon. That's why we want you to grow older before meeting many other people, vampires or not," Sabo explained honestly.

Luffy was confused, and it showed on his face. "Are kid vampires bad?" he asked. Sabo smiled and replied, "To some. You're different than regular vampires. You still age. Many others would think that changing a child into a full vampire would be stealing their future from them. They'd always be stuck as a child."

"Oh. But I get bigger, won't I?" Luffy questioned. He wanted to get big like his brothers, and be strong, too. Sabo nodded. Well, so far. They didn't know if Luffy would continue to age like a human. But, Luffy didn't need to know that. Sabo and Ace wanted him to look forward to his future.

"You'll get bigger and stronger, too. Promise," Sabo said, sticking his pinky finger out. Luffy wrapped his around Sabo's with a smile. Then he yawned. "Time to go back to sleep, Lu," Sabo said, tucking the vampire back in and leaving the room as Luffy's soft snores began. Sabo wished he could fall asleep as fast as Luffy. Blissfully ignorant of the world's view on him and his kind.

-x-

Luffy felt puffy in his thick jacket, pants and boots. But, he was so excited to go to the snow. He didn't like the sunglasses, though. It was night time, why did he need them? Most of the crew was awake now, with the two captains walking into the snow with Luffy, who was ecstatic to be off of the ship.

He could see fine, and Ace had a fire burning in the air, big enough to light up the area for the full humans. The fire was only made for a source of light, so it didn't melt the snow. Ace had perfect control over his fire.

Luffy was the one to start the snowball fight, nailing Ace in the stomach. Of course, it didn't hurt at all, even if he didn't have his devil fruit. He smirked at his baby brother and tossed his own snowball at him, who squealed and landed face first into the snow. Ace and Sabo laughed, knowing Luffy was fine.

The boy had a pout and then threw a ball at Sabo. He then sloppily built a wall to hide behind as Ace and Sabo threw small snowballs at him and large ones at each other. It got Sabo covered in snow, and Ace doused in water as the balls melted upon impact.

After tiring themselves out, the brothers grabbed Luffy to come build some snowmen with them. It turned into a competition that soon the whole crew took part in, besides the twins who were the ones asleep.

Luffy's wasn't the worst, despite being four. Aggie 68 was just abysmal at building anything. Luffy's little army of tiny snowmen were better than Aggie's single one. Then, Ace and Sabo buried Luffy in snow till only his head was peeking out, as they made up a story about the army of snowballs taking over the candy store and stealing the candies.

The boy had never been to a candy store, but Jojo was able to bake and create some for him, so Luffy felt he wasn't missing out on much. As the sun rose, everyone was getting tired, and Luffy was exhausted from all the playing and approaching sunrise.

So, Ace carried Luffy as they quickly walked back to the ship and to change and dry Luffy off for bed time after a quick dinner for him. Tonight, since both Ace and Sabo had stayed up, they would both sleep with Luffy in his big bed, which was made to fit all three. It was the biggest bed on the ship. There were three bedrooms on the small ship, all of them small. Ace and Sabo shared a room, which the others had their own room with hammocks. Jojo had been offered to have her own room, converting a storage room into half a bedroom, but she declined, a bit snappy about not wanting to be treated differently just because she was the only woman on the crew.

The ship was small, but it was what they wanted. Unassuming and simple, but safe at the same time, with reinforced walls and it had a very nice kitchen as well, thought it wasn't too big. The good thing about not being pirates, was that the Marines didn't come after them. No one had the chance of discovering Luffy by attacking them. Pirates or not, they were all strong.

Sure, they had one cannon that was below deck in storage, but they didn't fly a black flag, so no one saw them as pirates. The ship was docked in a secluded place, safe and with the twins awake now, they had watch on the ship. Zeno and Sparky had their snipers out, just in case since most of the crew were exhausted and would be asleep for awhile. They both were facing one direction, watching through the scopes.

Sabo and Luffy slept just fine that night, but the same couldn't be said for Ace. He dreamt of bad memories, of almost losing newborn Luffy who wasn't breathing, losing their mother to a vampire, the non-stop cries of Luffy, who was hungry and scared.

He woke up from Luffy patting his face. "Ace? You okay?" he asked in concern, sleep audible in his high pitched child voice. Ace gently pulled him close and into his arms.

"Just a bad dream," Ace mumbled against Luffy's hair, holding him tightly. "But now I have a snuggle buddy, so I'll be fine," he said, keeping his voice even despite the disturbing dream montage of memories. Luffy tucked his head against Ace's warm chest through the boy's giraffe pyjamas.

"Nighty night," Luffy whispered, and quickly fell bad to sleep. Ace felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Sabo had woken up. He knew of Ace's nightmare. It was the only one he had. No variation.

"Luffy's safe with us," Sabo said simply with a kind and understanding smile. Ace nodded and rested his head on Luffy's, falling asleep quickly, Sabo not long after.


	2. A Big Brother's Dedication

**WhiteyWolf26: Thank you! Yeah, it would suck to always be stuck as a child, never growing older. Makes me wonder if they would always have the brain of a child, since they wouldn't be growing, or if they would mature based on how long they were alive. There are reasons the love is unrequited.**

**Guest: Hope it's a good strange! lol. **

**Idoray: Aww, thank you. I'm glad you've liked my stories.**

**RIAEVENS: Thank you.**

**cantstopwontstop4u2so: Thank you! It's a super fluffy and cute story, so if that's what you're looking for you have come to the right place.**

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**When you catch up to the One Piece manga and are now terrified for certain character with status unknown. But at least we got the history of the yonko! That was cool. Only interesting part in Wano for me.**

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**Enjoy~**

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"Ace, will you bring me food from the town?" Luffy asked when Ace got up to leave. He uncurled from Luffy's small body, and had woken him up. The boy was still sleepy, as it was in the middle of the afternoon. He still had a couple more hours of sleep.

"How about I bring you some takoyakis?" Ace offered as he put his boots on, which were near the door and away from the fluffy carpet under Luffy's comfortable bed. Luffy grinned and nodded.

"You better," he mumbled and drifted back to sleep. Ace chuckled and said goodbye to Sabo, who had also woken up. It was lucky they could function with only a few hours of sleep. But Sabo stayed in bed with Luffy, thinking of how lucky they were to have Luffy.

"Be safe, Ace," Sabo said, what he always said to him when he left his brothers. Ace smiled and replied with, "Will do." Then he left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Sabo left not too long after Ace did, unwrapping the young vampire from him and tucking him in gently.

Luffy was used to waking up with his brothers already leaving, so he would be fine with Sabo leaving. Luffy knew Ace and Sabo had stuff they had to do during the day. Luffy had never known any different, but wished he could stay up during the day. He was just always so tired when the sun was up! Always so sleepy.

Ace came back with the rest of the crew sans Sabo and Jojo, carrying all of the supplies they had to get. Ace had some warm boxes of food for Luffy, since the others had gone out to dinner. It was almost time for Luffy to wake up. Sabo met the group and helped load things onto the ship.

When Luffy woke up, he was ecstatic for the takoyaki breakfast. He had woken up later than usual, probably from that day's adventure. Many of the crew had already gone to bed, but Deuce and Ace and Sabo were all still awake, and played a board game with him. Luffy was sharing the takoyaki with Deuce, since he had over three boxes of them.

Luffy's pale skin and red eyes had never bothered Deuce. He was just a normal child that had something happen at the wrong time. Even when Deuce didn't know about Lu's past, he was still accepting to the little vampire, the first human other than Ace and Sabo, so Luffy latched onto the blue-haired man.

"I win!" Luffy declared as he had the most pieces left of the game they've been playing.

"I'll win next time," Ace teased with a smirk. Luffy stuck his tongue out.

"Stingy Ace," the boy accused. Ace looked in mock horror. Luffy was unable to process lies, either just because of who he was or how old he was, and looked guilty.

"Sorry, Ace," he said sadly. Sabo smacked Ace's arm for making Lu upset. Sabo reassured him that Ace was just joking. "Meanie," Luffy grumbled. But, they moved on quickly from this and turned to a card game. Luffy was not good at cards, and bent the rules often, not understanding them so making up his own. And, as wrapped around his finger as they were, the other full-humans let him win and put up with the senseless changes in rules of the games. They could play for real when Lu was asleep.

When Luffy was awake, they let him have the most fun as possible since he was missing so much in life for his safety.

-x-

"Captain Ace, we have a problem," Saber said in concern. Ace was holding Luffy and looking up at the stars, Sabo leaning against the railing and napping. Ace looked to his crew member in concern, wondering what was the problem and would make Saber look so worried.

"What is it?" Ace asked.

"We're out of blood. Aggie had to use the last couple for Zeno after the shark attack," Saber said. The blood drained from Ace's face. Luffy had never been out of blood. If he didn't get any, they didn't know what would happen. But, they also didn't want to have to have him drink from the source. Ace knew the next island was over two weeks away. That meant two missed feedings.

But, if he had to, Ace would let Luffy feed off of him. It wasn't prefered, but Ace would do anything for his baby brother. Luffy wondered why Ace was upset. What was blood? Luffy thought that the blood he needed was just juice. Ace and Sabo didn't want him knowing what he was drinking. Luffy was part human, how would he feel about drinking from another human's body? Even if they were premade blood bags, they still came from someone.

Ace could just get a cut, drain the blood from his arm and then put it in a cup for Luffy, like there was nothing different about what he would be drinking. Ace put on a fake smile, looking down and assuring Luffy that things were fine.

"I'll figure it out. Don't tell Sabo, you'll make him worry," the captain said in a hush, poking Luffy's tummy in distraction for the boy to laugh.

"Aye captain," Deuce said, sending a reassuring look to Luffy. It would do no good to worry the boy. They'd figure something out. Deuce knew that Luffy's brothers would go to hell and back for him. They wouldn't let Lu starve or be uncomfortably thirsty. No one knew how Luffy would react, so that was slightly worrisome.

Luffy always acted like a human in his behavior. If they ever _did _completely run out of blood, would Luffy's vampire side take over? Even if he was mostly human, could he turn blood thirsty? Deuce didn't want to think about that, and neither did the brothers. They never wanted to see Lu act like a full vampire would.

After Luffy was put to bed with Sabo, Ace went to the small infirmary and told Aggie 68 to get the sea stone cuff and take some of Ace's blood. "I know Luffy's out of blood, and I'd rather get this done sooner than later," the captain said with hardened resolve. He hadn't been cut in years, not since his devil fruit. They only had the sea stone cuffs because Sabo thought they'd be worth it some time and stole it from a marine at the beginning of the trio's escape.

Aggie didn't question him at all, and just nodded. He didn't have a devil fruit, so handling the sea stone cuffs was fine. "Sit there," he instructed. "This will make you tired and maybe limp, so don't freak out." Ace nodded at the warning and held his hand out.

It was very uncomfortable, feeling so drained. He suddenly felt pity for devil fruit users caught by marines and shackled in this terrible mineral. The blood draw was quick, and Ace had instructed his doctor to take as much as possible. Three full blood bags later, Aggie 68 stopped, and uncuffed him. The puncture wound closed up immediately.

"You okay, cap?" the big man asked. Ace nodded and thanked him, saying to not tell Sabo about this. Aggie clearly felt conflicted about lying to one of the captains. Thought it was rare, it was always uncomfortable when the captains set orders against each other, because either way one of them would be upset.

"Got it," Aggie 68 said and took the fresh blood bags to the cooler in the corner. They kept the blood bags separate from the food, even if the blood was contained. Ace walked out of the room and to his and Sabo's. There was a divider in the middle of the room to keep some privacy and the beds separate, but when one of the elders were always with Luffy, the room was practically Ace or Sabo's alone, depending on the schedule they kept.

Ace was a bit tired from the blood draw, so he easily fell asleep, faster than he usually did. But he was content that he'd solved a problem without worrying either of his precious brothers, and Luffy would still have blood to feed off of until they restock their supply of other people's blood.

Yes, you could buy blood, as vampires were part of society, but none of the crew wanted any affiliation that might make it known they had a vampire on their ship. Especially one as unique as Luffy. So, one of the crew, usually Ace or Sabo, would steal blood bags. It was easier to steal from a hospital than a real blood bag merchant. Those were almost always able to defend themselves since they'd be dealing with vampires.

Mere hospital staff couldn't put up a fight with the strength of one of the crew members. And they made sure to do it so they weren't caught. It had become easy after practice.

-x-

It was Sabo's week to stay up with Luffy to keep him company, and for once the feeding didn't go smoothly. Usually, Luffy would be asked if he was thirsty, say yes, and drink some blood. Then move on and do it again a week later with the other big brother.

"Are you thirsty?" Sabo asked, like usual, as he ate home made potato wedges with Lu. Luffy swallowed his mouthful of potato and nodded with a grin. Sabo wiped his chin with a napkin fondly and left the room to get the blood, transporting it into a sippy cup and then came back to heat on the stove for a moment. It was a lot easier when Ace did it.

But, when the vampire child was given the warm drink, he sniffed it and frowned. "What is this?" he asked in confusion. Sabo frowned, confused as well.

"It's your juice. What else would it be?" No one had named the red liquid Luffy drank, and it hadn't connected to him that it was blood. Luffy didn't get hurt often, as his brothers were almost too protective, so he couldn't recognize it compared to his own.

"But… why does it smell like Ace?" Luffy questioned. He sniffed it again and put it down. "It smells like Ace, Sabo."

Sabo wiped the frown off his face, irritated that something had happened with Ace and he wasn't told. "Does it usually smell different?" Luffy nodded. "Why don't I add some stuff to it to make it not smell like Ace? Maybe Ace accidentally stuck his hand in it," Sabo offered, though he knew that excuse was bullshit. Luffy nodded and handed the cup back.

Not being a chef, Sabo just added some spices to it, not knowing if he was completely wasting an important batch of life force for Luffy. But, when the blood was given back to the boy, he was happy to say that the drink smelled more like spices than Ace. And Sabo was relieved when Luffy drank it just fine.

Though, the thought of Luffy drinking _Ace's _blood and not a stranger made him feel like he betrayed Lu by lying to him about it. Sabo really hoped this wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass. They often sugar coated things so much it could be considered a lie to Luffy, but this was a flat out _real _lie.

Hopefully, it would pass and be forgotten by him. But Sabo was still cranky with Ace for whatever reason he didn't tell him about them having run out of blood or something that would be cause for Ace to use his own blood to feed his brother.

"Why don't we go play outside?" Sabo offered, picking Luffy up from his seat and empty plate to go play with the ball outside. The ball was useful to play with because it had glow in the dark paint on it so those without enhanced night vision could see it better. The moon and starlight lit up the deck well enough, but the addition of the ball glowing was helpful and appreciated.

Luffy threw the ball towards the cabin, since he had less control and some throws were wildly strong and others barely reached Sabo's outstretched hands. More than a couple times, Sabo had to hide the pain of getting the rubber ball thrown at him too hard. At least Ace wasn't hurt and the ball could just go right through him. Sometimes Sabo was jealous of his brothers. Ace's devil fruit and Luffy's (most likely) eventual strength. Luffy already had enhanced senses.

Speaking of that, Luffy looked to the side of the ship and at the water to see a school of dolphins. "Sabo, look!" Luffy cried as he rushed to the railing to look at the passing school of dolphins. Luffy was ecstatic because, cooped up inside the ship during the day, he rarely saw animals of any sort.

"They're dolphins," Sabo said, picking Luffy up to sit on his shoulders and watch the hundreds of dolphins pass the stationary ship.

"Pretty. I wish I could swim," Luffy said with a pout.

"Ace can't swim either," Sabo pointed out. "Maybe next time we're lucky and come across an island with no people living on it, we can find a lake or creek and go swimming. For now, do you want to settle on a bath?" Luffy nodded his head happily, complaint forgotten as he and Sabo walked to the bathroom. It had been another reason they chose this model. It had a large bath tub that Sabo could sit in with Luffy, even if it was cramped and uncomfortable for the older brothers. Ace had to use the shower and would turn helpless in the bath.

"Bubbles?" Sabo offered, making Luffy's "day".

-x-

Luffy was put to sleep for the day, and Sabo finally had time to corner Ace about what he'd been hiding from Sabo. Ace knew just by the glare Sabo gave him that he was in trouble. And he had a feeling what about.

"So, Ace. Care to tell me why Luffy said that his juice smelled like you? If he weren't so innocent and was convinced you stuck your hand in it, he would still be thirsty." Sabo wasn't happy with Ace keeping secrets from him. Especially Sabo! They were brothers, closer than you could imagine, and having Ace hiding things was never good.

"We ran out of blood for him, so we used some of mine. I didn't want to worry you and I know one of us would have done it anyway," Ace replied, not meeting Sabo's narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want to worry you or bring anymore attention to it for Lu. He doesn't even know what his 'juice' is. I don't want him to know and I know you don't either.

"Once we reach the next island, we'll refill our supply and toss out the ones I donated," the teen finished. Sabo sighed, knowing that Ace did the right thing even if he should have told Sabo. He would have offered himself.

Sabo assumed that Ace had used sea stone to solidify himself so he could have blood taken. It must have been uncomfortable. Sabo knew it was the most terrible feelings to a fruit user, besides being helpless in water. The blonde brother sighed. There wasn't anything he could do about it now, and it had been in the best interest to Luffy, the most important one of them all.

"We should try and get Jojo to disguise the smell of you in the blood. I added random spices, but Luffy will eat anything that smells remotely good. Jojo could probably make it much better," Sabo hypothesized, moving on from their squabble which was a moot point now.

Ace was glad Sabo dropped the issue. "Good thing these people are weird and are fine with handling and vampire and blood," he joked. Both of them headed to the kitchen, where Jojo would most likely be. Luffy wouldn't need to feed for another week, so it would be pointless to alter the blood now. It was too early. They could just ask for some ideas from Jojo what would taste good to Lu.

Jojo knew everyone's favorite foods best. Ace and Sabo preferred spicy foods, while Luffy preferred sweet foods. The others had specific tastes as well. While the identical twins liked sweet, Luffy was dump-sugar-on-rice sweet. Jojo herself and Aggie 68 like tangy and sour. So, Jojo treated everyone's servings as individuals. She really was a dedicated chef on the ship. They couldn't have asked for better.

Both of them headed to her, ready to ask her for some advice on how to make _blood _taste better. And both of them knew she'd do her best to fulfil what the brothers wanted, and especially for Lu. Everyone wanted him happy, even if many of the crew didn't see him much do to scheduling.

Luffy woke up too early. He knew the sun was still up, but he really had to use the bathroom. Instead of alerting his brothers or the crew, he decided to go on his own. It was just across the hall from his room. Well, maybe down the hall, but there were no windows, so the sun wouldn't get him.

He silently got out of bed, fluffy slippers on his bare feet, as he left the safety of his room and walked out to the bathroom. The window was covered by a small curtain, so no sun got in the bathroom. Artificial light was fine, so the light was turned on so he could see where he was going and what he was doing.

The boy was washing his hands when he heard shouts from the hall. He dried his hands on his pjs quickly and opened the door, assuring his brothers that he was fine, just had to pee. He didn't like how scared both of them had looked. Luffy knew what would happen if he went outside alone during the day. He'd get horribly sunburned and would be in pain. Not to mention, he'd have a splitting headache.

Ace and Sabo tucked him back in, telling him, almost sternly, to alert them over the monitor if he had to leave the room. Or if he couldn't go to sleep and then they could get him something to help sleep. But, that had never been a problem and he was out like a light, tucked back into his comfortable bed, stuffed giraffe under his arm and all.


	3. Practicing Skills

**Jordansdevil: Aw, thank you!**

**Idoray: Thank you!**

**cantstopwontstop4u2so: Lol, I hope it isn't too predictable. **

**I know I just posted the last chapter but I don't want to have posting Sons of Beasts and this one on the same day. So, early chapter!**

The blood Ace had donated no longer smelled anything like Ace, to Luffy's happiness. He didn't know why his juice had smelled like Ace that time, but now it just smelled and tasted like his juice was candied. He liked it, making Jojo's night. She was worried all of the work would have been for nothing and would have just wasted Ace's donation.

It got her thinking about something else. Blood desserts. Surely Luffy would like that. That would be her new project. She was looking for something new to try out, and here was a whole blank slate to work on. But, she would do it with the extras they had once the crew restocked. She wouldn't needlessly waste whole bags, just maybe a tablespoon here and there.

Ace's blood was just enough to reach the next island, which had them concerned. They'd sailed all of the East Blue, slowly and leisurely, as they had no real place to go. Just to not be in one place too long, or expose Luffy to anyone untrustworthy. But here they were, once again at Logue Town. Easily the most dangerous place in the East Blue for Lu.

He knew bounty hunters were here a lot, as well as marines who were too weak for the Grand Line. Would they go back in a circle? Or would they try going someplace new? Surely the Grand Line was still too dangerous for Luffy's safety. Plus, their crew was quite small, and they only had a few true fighters. This would need a meeting between everyone. Including the youngest resident.

When they were nearing Logue Town, at night, the ship stopped and lowered the anchor for the day, getting everyone out on deck. Luffy sat in Ace's lap, playing with Ace's much bigger fingers and the ring he wore, twisting it around Ace's finger absentmindedly.

"What is everyone talking 'bout?" Luffy wondered. But he was happy, everyone was out for him to see. Usually, many of the crew, if not all, were asleep when he woke up. But here, everyone was!

"Where we're going to go next, Lu," Sabo answered. "We've sailed around the East Blue twice for the last two years. Do we want to go someplace else? Not the Grand Line, but any of the other Blues?"

"Will they be safe for Luffy?" Aggie 68 asked seriously while he polished his sword. Luffy looked up in surprise at his name being mentioned.

"Not safe for me?" he wondered, looking up at his big brother's face. "Why?" Ace looked down with a reassuring smile, not that Luffy seemed worried. He didn't think of things like danger. He was always protected by his big brothers, and as long as he could remember, this ship was his safe home and sanctuary.

"The Grand Line can be a scary place, a place not for children," Ace explained patiently. Luffy cocked his head to the side, his red eyes openly confused. "Little children could get into trouble in a place like the Grand Line. That's why we'd go to one of the other Blues. More adventures somewhere else, right?"

Luffy beamed. "Adventures?" he asked. He always wanted to go on an adventure like in the stories read to him. "But, safe adventures?" Ace nodded.

"Exactly. We want safe adventures," the teen replied.

Jojo spoke next. She had come from the North Blue, proof that they could move through the Blues. "I would suggest not going to North Blue. Not with the political climate from a few years back. We don't want to put ourselves and Luffy in needless danger," the chef said. Sabo nodded in agreement, knowing what she was meaning.

Though it was unlikely that they would be inconvenienced, it was still a danger they didn't need or want. "What about the West blue? Or South Blue?" Aggie 68 asked, chewing on a piece of beef jerky.

"Those would be the only two options," Sabo said, looking at his notes. "The West Blue would be my pick. South Blue is known to have giant animals. Best to avoid any and all danger." Luffy's bright eyes lit up.

"Giant animals? Like big giraffes?" he asked excitedly. Sabo turned a patient eye to him.

"Giant animals who are dangerous. Animals that would hurt us. We don't want anyone getting hurt. And giraffes are already very big. I know you want to see one in real life, but South Blue has monster animals that _aren't _giraffes," the older brother explained kindly. Luffy's little mouth formed an "o" in understanding before nodding.

Jojo got up and left for a moment before coming back with a sandwich for Luffy once his tummy rumbled and he poked at it. Luffy ate the large sandwich happily. It had all of his favorites. Tomato, roast beef, lettuce and honey mustard. Easily the least complicated chosen sandwich for any on the crew.

"West Blue then?" Ace and Sabo nodded to Zeno's question. "Then we should restock at Logue Town. Who's gonna stay with Luffy?" Sabo raised his hand. Ace was stronger physically then Sabo, even if it's only by a little bit, so he was better at carrying boxes and such. Sabo would stay on the ship with Lu, making sure nothing bad happened while the boy was asleep.

-x-

Sabo stood on the deck, watching the island with a hawk's eye, spying out any danger to their vessel or the little one inside. It was the middle of the day, and the others were on the island buying food and anything they'd need. Including maps of the West Blue. Saber and Deuce were in charge of things like that, while the others bought food and Ace snuck into the large hospital on the island and swiped multiple blood bags. Enough for two months of feeding their resident vampire.

Things went smoothly, and soon the ship was en route to Reverse Mountain. It was much easier to get into the Grand Line than into another one of the Blues, but it was possible. Jojo knew how, and was going to be directing them.

Luffy was told he had to hang onto his bed frame while they went up the mountain at fast speeds. Luffy's bed was bolted to the floor of his room for added safety since he stayed in there so long. A storm would wreck his room if the furniture was not securely in place and unmovable unless the screws were removed by one of the crew.

So, the tired boy clung to his bed frame as the whole ship tilted backwards. Luffy was exhausted, and his weak arms with sleep unlatched from the bed and he fell onto the headboard of his bed. It hurt his neck and he started crying, something he rarely did anymore. Even though he cried a lot as a baby, his brothers and crew were able to keep him constantly happy.

But now, his neck hurt and he was dizzy from the ship's movements. He cried all alone in his room, until someone heard him and entered the room. The baby monitor was still in the kitchen. For once, when they really needed it, Ace and Sabo didn't have the device on them.

Jojo heard him first, but had to get outside with the spare compass since the other had fallen and cracked from the sudden jolt. They had only a few minutes of going up before they had to turn diagonally and down the canal that lead to the West Blue.

"Captains, Luffy's crying!" Jojo shouted. In their panic of their baby brother crying, all alone, both of them ran into the ship, both of them thinking the other would stay. Sabo let go of the wheel, but Ace wasn't there to catch it. "Someone take the wheel!" the chef screamed.

But it was too late. A few seconds too late, as the wheel wasn't turned at the right time, and the ship naturally turned down the only canal that flowed downwards. "Shit!" Aggie 68 shouted as they descended down the one canal they most definitely didn't want to go down. They were heading to the Grand Line.

-x-

"Lu?" Sabo asked as he and Ace entered the room. Luffy was crying, big tears down his face and skin splotchy red. "Lu, what's wrong?" The big brothers both were inside, the ship tilted at an angle backwards, until they suddenly were pitched forward and into the wall. Luffy was thrown off of his bed, but Ace caught him gently, even as he smashed into the wall, though not hard enough to cause serious damage.

This made Luffy cry harder. Ace rubbed the boy's back, shushing him. Sabo winced from the crash into the wall, but was fine. He'd just have some bruises later most likely. It had been a hard fall. "What's wrong?" Ace asked quietly.

"Hit m-my bed an-and hurt my ne-ck!" Luffy cried. Ace moved his big hand to Luffy's neck and gently rubbed it as he was pinned to the wall. Ace looked pointedly to Sabo to go see what was happening and if they were in the West Blue yet. Sabo nodded and left the room, supporting himself against the wall to not fall again.

He came out of the cabin and held onto the door. The six sailors on deck all looked scared or angry. But, no one lashed out at Sabo. They knew that he did it on instinct, thinking his little brother was in trouble or hurt.

"Are we heading to the West Blue?" Sabo asked, though he didn't understand why they would all be upset about that. Zeno turned to Sabo, upset, but not angry with the captains.

"No, we're heading to the Grand Line. The ship turned automatically at just the wrong time. We're not sure how to go back up Reverse Mountain this way," he explained. Sabo's mouth went dry. The Grand Line was populated with pirates. Dangerous pirates. Sabo put his head in his hands as the ship evened out. What a nightmare.

Sure, the brothers had always planned on going to the Grand Line, but that was before they had a baby brother to take care of. His safety and happiness always took precedence over Ace and Sabo's desire to some day be pirates out on the sea. But now, they saw pirates as the bad guys. They would want Luffy. He was unique, the only one of his kind.

Would the Spades need to declare themselves as pirates to keep safe from other pirate crews? But then they'd attract marines, too. It was a lose-lose situation. Jojo sighed. "Is Luffy okay?" she asked quietly, trying to distract Sabo from their problem.

Sabo took a deep calming breath. "He fell and hurt his neck, but he should be fine. Ace caught him before he crashed into a wall. Lu is probably back asleep by now," Sabo explained calmly. "I'm sorry both of us bolted. One of us should have stayed at the wheel; this is our fault."

Saber frowned. "We know it was natural for both of you to go. No one blames you. If anything, it's Jojo's fault for telling you at that moment when we needed no other distractions." Saber said it in a joking way (slightly), but it was true. Though they couldn't blame her for doing her duty and reporting that to her captains.

"We'll figure it out. For now, weigh anchor at that shore over there," Sabo ordered. "I'll be out in a minute."

On his way inside, he heard Jojo say, "Thank God I did the unnecessary and bought a log pose." Sabo walked to Luffy's room to find that he was back asleep, tucked in, nice and warm, in his thick blankets. Ace was running his fingers along Luffy's arm. "Goobums" he called it. Luffy liked the feeling of goosebumps when fingers trailed along his skin. It helped him relax when stressed, or fall asleep those rare days where he had trouble with it.

"Ace, we need you out on deck. The ship weighed anchor. Luffy will be fine," Sabo said. Ace looked concerned, but quietly and slowly removed his hand from Luff's small, soft arm and left the room. The door shut lightly, the nightlight projecting stars across the room's walls.

"What's wrong? Are we in West blue now?" Ace questioned, though he knew from Sabo's body language that something bad had happened. Something hadn't gone as planned. When everyone but Luffy was out on deck, Sabo told Ace where they were. And it was not in one of the Blues.

Ace looked horrified. "Please tell me this is a fucked up joke," Ace said. Sabo hadn't heard Ace swear in a long time. Not since Luffy was old enough to mimic words. After all, even through walls, an awake Luffy was able to hear you. The brothers had stopped swearing anything but "damn" after two year old Lu repeated "chit!".

"No, it's no joke Captain," Deuce replied quietly. "Going back into the Blues from the Grand Line… we don't know how to do that. We have no maps of this sea, but we can follow the log pose to the nearest island and buy one."

Sparky sighed. "The Grand Line isn't like the Blues," he began. "There are random storms, pirates, uninhabited or dangerous islands, marines, dangerous sea creatures, and long stretches of no islands. We don't have to worry about marines since we don't fly a black flag, but the rest of the stuff is dangerous.

"If we didn't have a child on board, we would be strong enough to fight off any 'bad guys'. The main problem we have is keeping Luffy safe and secret. It's even harder when Luffy can't come out during the day. We need everyone aware together, but somebody will always be tired during the day, or needing to sleep to make up for time spent with Luffy."

Sabo and Ace both looked very worried.

"Plus, the further you sail into the Grand Line, the more dangerous the islands get," Zeno said. "The good thing about this sea is there is bound to be more vampires. Just as long as no one sees Luffy as a vampire, he won't be that big of a deal. Even here, I assume it is frowned upon to change children."

"...Now that we're here, maybe we should start training Lu," Ace suggested. Sabo glared at him.

"He's _four, _Ace," Sabo said harshly. Training Luffy would be different than Ace and Sabo training when they were young. They had incentive, and something to protect. Luffy would probably end up goofing off and ruining the ship by still not being able to control his strength.

Ace glared at him. "So what? We were five when we started training."

"Captain, Luffy could end up destroying the ship on accident," Aggie 68 said cautiously. Ace replied with, "All the more reason to train him now."

The others sighed and looked at the cabin, where said boy was sleeping. They were caught between thinking it was a great idea, but also a horrible idea. "Why don't we start by trying to train his senses and not his strength?" Jojo offered. Ace and Sabo thought about it for a minute. Jojo then elborated. "If he can sense others around him, it could help him keep out of any bad situations. Besides, you guys think he's too young to learn to fight, right?

"Or, do you not want his innocence and vulnerabilty taken away?" the chef asked, a little darker now. They all knew the answer to that. Ace and Sabo enjoyed being Luffy's protectors. For a long time, that had been their sole purpose of living. To let their mother's last wish be fulfilled. But it quickly changed into them wanting to protect their baby brother from the cruel outside world.

The two brothers looked ashamed, knowing Jojo was right. "We'll settle for heightening his senses. Fighting can wait," Sabo decided for them both. Ace didn't protest as he shared Sabo's opinion on this. The others all nodded. "So, are we heading to the nearest island?"

The others all agreed, glad their captains listened to their crew's opinions. Jojo sighed and told the others she'd be making lunch now. Sabo went into the galley and to their shelves to get the Grand Line log pose. Their new lifeline. It really was lucky Jojo had bought one. It was like she was psychic.

They were all lucky two of their crew members had come from the Grand Line, but as children, so they knew the basics. And Sabo had studied up about the Grand Line as a child. He and Ace had once broken into an abandoned pirate ship and stolen all of the belongings, despite the fact the village thought it was haunted.

The two brothers were fearless. And the ship hadn't been haunted, it had just been old and dangerous for those who weren't as agile and aware as the boys had been. They had also gotten a fair amount of treasure from it. And quite a few skeletons. But that money had bought them some clothes and reusable diapers for their baby brother.

Ace and Sabo had done a lot to protect their brother, and would continue to do so. And Jojo was right. They liked taking care of Luffy, and wanted him to rely on them. But, for his own safety, they'd practice with him.

The blonde captain brought the log pose to their navigator, handing the tool to Saber. "Sorry about this. I know you're not used to the weather in the Grand Line, but I'll help you out. I read some about it, and you know I have a good memory," Sabo said reassuringly. He knew Saber would be nervous about navigating the Grand Line. Who wouldn't be at first?

But Saber smiled. "Don't worry, Captain Sabo. We'll all do the best we can to keep Luffy safe," Saber replied, knowing that was the first priority for Ace and Sabo. The blonde captain gave him a smile and thanked him.

They would all protect precious Luffy, their treasure and the most important thing in Ace and Sabo's life.

-x-

"Grand Line?" Luffy questioned after he had his breakfast. He was sitting at the galley table with Ace. Tonight was a double shift. Ace for the first half of the night, and Sabo the second. Ace nodded and explained that Luffy had to be able to help himself. The child vampire didn't seem to understand the point of him getting stronger when he had Ace and Sabo with him all of the time.

"If we somehow get separated, then we want you to be able to find us while we look for you," Ace explained patiently. "We know you can smell very well, but why don't we see how far?"

Luffy looked excited for whatever they would be doing. The ship was still sailing, despite it being dark out. This was part of Ace's plan to see how far Luffy could see and smell in the dark. Ace knew he already could smell very well and far, but since Luffy never left the ship, it was hard to tell just how far. No one left the ship for extended periods of time during the night and when Luffy was active.

Ace picked out a piece of meat from the refrigerator, which was cooked recently and smelled delicious, and tied it to a plastic water bottle. It was useless, so they wouldn't be losing anything by tossing it overboard.

Luffy followed after Ace like a duckling following its mother. "Now, let's see how far you can smell," Ace said, handing Luffy the meat to smell, and then tossed it far into the ocean. "I'm going to go away a bit, so you don't smell the meat on me. I'll be right over there, though," the captain said and pointed to on top of the cabin, where he could still see the meat with his binoculars floating on the water. It was only a matter of time before something comes and eats it.

"Tell me when you can't see or smell it anymore," Ace said, knowing he needn't yell, for Lu could hear him just fine. The vampire boy continued to look at the meat until it was a tiny speck on the horizon. He could smell it until it was long out of view, even in Ace's binoculars.

"Can't smell or see it 'nymore!" Luffy called. "I want some, can I have some?" he asked, bouncing on his toes. Ace answered that he could have it for his dinner. Luffy pouted, but accepted the decision fairly quickly for him.

Ace jumped down to Luffy and picked him up. He was so light, even for a four year old. "That was impressive, Lu," Ace said with a grin. "Why don't we try something a little less smelly?" he offered. Luffy wanted to continue to game, so he agreed.

What thing Ace threw next was a towel that hadn't been used for awhile. It had Ace's scent on it, but it was faded as it had been forgotten in the bottom of the laundry basket. Ace tied the two ends of the towels over some balloons that he blew up. They had been for Luffy's fourth birthday party a couple months back, and it was convenient they still had some.

Ace dropped it in the water, as throwing it was harder than the meat and bottle had been. Ace returned to his spot on the cabin as look out. This time, with the towel less scented, and a dark color, Luffy's sight and smell weren't as keen as the meat had been. It was probably because the scent on the towel had faded substantially. But, Luffy's senses were still impressive.

They two trained some more with other objects, and it seemed Luffy was sensitive the most to Sabo and Ace's smell, which was good. That meant they'd be the first people he went to if he got lost. Ace and Sabo would do their best to never have that happen, but if it did, Ace was glad Luffy could smell them so well.

"Why don't we focus on your hearing, now?" Ace asked in a happy voice. Luffy grinned and nodded. It was almost time for Ace to trade with Sabo, so the older teen wanted to at least train with some of his hearing.

Ace went to one side of the deck, Luffy on the other, and whispered words, or dropped very small objects to see if Luffy could hear them. Luffy could hear most of the words, but hearing the sound of a needle dropping was too quiet. Luffy was disappointed in himself when he didn't hear it, but Ace was able to assure him that he did great. After all, none of the others on the crew could do what Luffy could.

It also helped that night time was quiet, so Luffy could hear better. It was the only time Luffy would be out without feeling uncomfortable and getting injured. Luffy hugged Ace and he kissed the crown of his baby brother's head as Ace switched with Sabo.

"What did you do with Ace?" Sabo asked as he carried Luffy back to the deck, holding a piece of paper. He'd designed a little test for the boy. To see how close up Luffy could see things.

"He threw stuff into the water and saw how far I smell or see it. Then he made sounds to see if I can hear him from far on the deck," Luffy explained, a blood lollipop that Jojo had made in his mouth.

"I have a test for your eye sight, too," Sabo said in a chipper voice, his happiness rubbing off of Luffy. He'd had a lot of trouble falling asleep, guilt and worry eating at him. But, being with Luffy erased those feelings, at least for the moment. "What's it?" the boy asked around his lollipop.

"Here, I'll show you. Stand, or sit if you want, right here. I'm going to show you some pictures and have you tell me what is it from far away," Sabo explained. He walked a few yards away, and pulled out the first paper. It had symbols on it. Stars, circles, Xs, and other shapes. The captain would put his finger at one of the symbols, which got smaller and smaller with each paper, and Luffy would tell him what he was pointing at.

Luffy's vision was incredible. He was able to discern the symbols from across the deck with the smallest sized paper. After doing this a lot, Luffy's stomach grumbled from hunger. "Sabo, Ace said I can have meat for dinner," Luffy said as he shot up and ran to Sabo. This time, Luffy ran at the speed of a human his age, not super fast like he sometimes accidentally did.

"He did? Well, I guess we'll go get some yummy meat for dinner. But, also some vegetables. People need nutrients to be healthy," Sabo said, holding Luffy's small hand as the boy swung it back and forth.

Sabo didn't know if Luffy needed vegetables or not, but it was best to help him feel normal and part human. Luffy got hungry, but they still didn't know if he needed food to survive. He may just like the taste of human food. He did need blood, as when he was a baby and wasn't given any, he became sickly. They had made sure to keep him ingesting blood when he needed it after that.

Luffy devoured the seasoned meat and steamed zucchini. Sabo had to urge him to eat the greens, but once he got started with the pepper and butter on them, he ate it enthusiastically. Sabo was the only one who forced Luffy to eat healthy human foods. Ace was a suck up. Even more than Sabo.

Everyone was glad that left overs made Luffy happy. The food was rarely not already cooked and put in the refrigerator. Luffy was just fine with that; it tasted good and he didn't know any different.

After his dinner, he grew sleepy once the sun was coming close to rising. Sabo carried him to his room, telling him, "This sea has a lot of storms, so I'm going to tuck you in tightly with the blankets, okay? So you don't fall off by accident." Luffy yawned and nodded. He was practically limp when Sabo tucked him in, tightening the comforter by putting the edge's under the mattress instead of draping over the side.

Luffy was fine and comfortable with that, and Sabo closed the bedroom door the moment the sun came up.


	4. Stranded and Vulnerable

**Idoray: Thank you! They are indeed now in the Grand Line and things are going to change for them very much.**

**Jordansdevil: Luffy is everything to Ace and Sabo. In a flashback chapter in the future it'll show why that is. I'm excited to post that one! Hope you stick with it!**

* * *

**And here we have another chapter. I posted a new story that is an Ace/Marco romance if you want to check it out. This chapter we get to see someone new! And then the chapter ends! Sorry about this, will have to wait another week to see more of him! Enjoy~**

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The Grand Line was terrifying for Luffy. Multiple days, on their way to the first island, Luffy was awoken from a sudden storm. Even being secure in his bed, it was scary. Especially the first time, when all of his books fell off of the bookshelf with a loud thud, startling the boy awake.

He had cried, the baby monitor picking it up. Luffy cried a lot now. Things were scary, and he wasn't in awe of the creatures in the Grand Line waters. Most of the time, the animals he did see were Sea Kings. Terrifying monsters that made Luffy want to go back inside.

The ship was sturdy, but Luffy was still afraid that it would break apart from a storm or Sea King attack. There had been no attacks from the monsters, and they mostly passed the ship after taking a peek at it.

Even here on the dangerous Grand Line, one of the brothers often slept with Lu for some of the day. Especially on days there was a storm. And they happened at night sometimes, too, so everyone would be tired waking up at 3 AM to the shouts of the captains and littlest one. To say the Grand Line _sucked _would be an understatement.

It took over a week to reach the first island. An island with a lot of cactuses, which Luffy thought was funny. Sabo stayed on the ship with Luffy while the others got provisions. Ace and those who embarked on the land learned that it was an island that was populated by bounty hunters. But, not being pirates or having wanted posters, the residents left them alone. Were friendly, even.

The Spade's sailor crew declined the offer to throw a party politely, and that was that. The ship was allowed to dock, and was unbothered, until the log pose set in less than a day. Luffy had wanted to stretch his legs and go on a walk, but his older brothers rejected this and kept him on the ship. Bounty hunters might see him and take him in.

They knew that was an unlikely scenario, but the brothers had become even more paranoid of Luffy's safety as they sailed in the dangerous waters. Luffy wasn't happy with this. He was the most grumpy he'd been his whole life. All because Sabo and Ace let go of the damn wheel. It was their fault they were in the Grand Line. Not Jojo's for telling the two about Luffy being upset.

The crew made it clear they didn't blame either of the captains, which was a relief. But they still blamed themselves. Luffy was their weakness and strength at the same time. Everyone on the ship knew that.

It was their fourth week on the Grand Line that the first pirate attack happened. It had been during the day, so Luffy was thankfully asleep, and the pirates were quickly taken care of without the boy waking from the noise.

Ace had been merciless. No one would scare his baby brother. He'd burned the ship to ash, Sabo and the others besides Aggie 68, who was guarding the entrance to the interior of the ship, beating the pirates senseless. They would protect their ship - their home - and keep Luffy safe and unafraid as best as they could. It was a relief to know that the crew had been able to easily handle a pirate attack. They didn't know or care if any of the pirates died by their hand. If not, they had probably been eaten by Sea Kings. Served them right, trying to raid a ship that wasn't even enemy pirates.

It was more stressful to pass a Marine ship than it was a pirate ship. But, the Marine ship passed harmlessly. After all, the Spades didn't fly a black flag. So they were thankfully left alone and sailed right past each other. Sabo had offered the marines at the side of the ship a polite wave, and said, "Have a nice day!" Best to seem like a good person than someone suspicious, even if they had no reason to be inspected by the Marines.

Storms continued to plague them, and would ruin Luffy's "night" often. He had trouble sleeping sometimes, and was only able to sleep the whole night when one of his brothers slept with him the whole time, or at least stayed in the same room. The captains' room was barely used at all anymore. At least one of them was always awake, with the other spending time with their baby brother.

The second island they visited had been called Kyoko Island. It was a snow island, while the last had been a summer island. Luffy was finally let off of the ship once they found it had one small town on it, with no Marine base. Luffy was let off during the night with Sabo. They built snowmen and snow-castles together in the snow at a secluded area. Zeno and Sparky kept watch for any wild animals. Luffy was distracted by some fun, _finally, _so he might not notice something coming towards them. Better safe than sorry.

It took three days for the log pose to set there, so the crew went hunting for food. Luffy strictly drank human blood. They'd tried animal blood when he was a child, but it gave him the equivalent of food poisoning. So, they would stock up on blood at the next island with a city. But, they might have more trouble with stealing while being in a much stronger sea than the East Blue.

When Ace stepped foot on the next island, Sabo staying behind this time, Ace was wearing a hat and scarf around his mouth. He wore a shirt and some of Sabo's pants, which he hated. Too confining from his usual shirtless attire with shorts. He went to the blood bank, which was quite large, with a pocket full of money.

He saw no vampires, as it was during the day, and purchased eight bags of blood. It was expensive to say the least, and used up all of the money he'd brought. They even had them organized by blood type and the age of those who donated the blood. Ace just choose one of each type, since Luffy didn't discriminate what type he drank.

They were happy to find that no one bothered them when buying blood. There were no hostile glances, though he did get some strange looks, as he was clearly not a vampire, but was purchasing blood. He chalked it up to it not being often that blood was purchased during the day, so the citizens don't often see people buy from the blood bank.

But no problems were caused by this, and things progressed smoothly. No one bothered them on this island. Really, the worst thing about the Grand Line was the weather. The Spades had expected quite a few more pirate attacks. But, the pirates they saw or fought, which were only two altogether, were easily beaten by the crew. Even just Ace and Sabo could defeat the entire enemy ship.

Saber had a feeling that it would be different if they ever sailed to the New World, which they weren't planning on doing anytime soon. Not in the next decade at least. They were more likely to settle down on an island than to sail into the New World with a tiny crew and a ship that could not handle such waters. It was strong, but they knew it couldn't handle a place like the New World.

-x-

Ace was awoken by the ship shaking. He assumed it was another storm, and hurried outside to assess how bad the storm was, and if he needed to wake the entire crew. He knew Sabo was still with Luffy. It was early morning, and the sun had already risen, so they were most likely both asleep.

But it wasn't a storm that had caused the ship to rock. It was a pod of dolphins. The only problem was that they were _massive. _The waves from their leaps out of the water shook the boat, and Ace could tell some were swimming under them. To say it was very uncomfortable would be an understatement.

He was thrown forward and face first onto the deck when one must have bumped the ship from below. He ran down the bottom of the ship, where the storage was, and inspected the walls for any holes. He found none, and went back up to the deck, looking over the sides to see if there was any damage. There was none, but he was positive that they were hit.

He heard Aggie 68 come out to ask what had happened, still very sleepy. "A giant dolphin ran into the ship, but I can't find any damage," Ace said, running his hand through his black hair. "I'm sure one of them hit us, though." Then he noticed the ship was turning slightly to the side. He hurried to the wheel to right the ship back to forwards, when nothing happened as he turned the wheel. He grew pale.

Aggie seemed to understand what this meant as well. "Come help me go over the edge and see the rudder," Ace ordered, running to the side of the ship to pick up a coil of rope and run to the back of the ship.

The doctor helped tie the rope around Ace's waist tightly and helped him repel down to the water, to look at the rudder, which they were both sure was damaged. Ace gasped and then swore colorfully, saying words he hadn't said in a long time, when he saw the rudder was barely attached to the ship anymore. It was bent to the side, some of the wood broken off.

"Aggie, pull me up!" Ace called. He was easily pulled back up by the large and strong man. "The rudder is ruined," the captain said with closed eyes. "We still have a lot of food, so we won't starve any time soon." Ace was trying to find something not terrible about this situation. "But we're stranded otherwise."

"We're sitting ducks, then," the doctor said, sounding surprisingly calm. He was at least fifteen years older than Ace, so he could just be better at pretending. Ace wasn't, and was pacing back and forth, running his hand through his hair over and over.

"What are we gonna do?" Ace asked quietly. He knew he needed to calm down, and the only way to do that was to go to Luffy. Without another word, he left Aggie 68 and went to Luffy's room. He was still asleep, thankfully, but Sabo was awake. The doctor knew where Ace was going and didn't follow.

Ace sat down and laid next to Luffy, taking deep and calming breaths. Sabo looked at him in concern and confusion. His brother was acting strange. "Go ask Aggie," Ace whispered before gently massaging Luffy's head. They both heard a quiet sigh. Luffy had always liked that feeling, almost as much as the "goobums". The raven haired brother stayed in bed with Luffy, soaking in the calm that his brother brought forth.

When Sabo found Aggie 68 on deck, the others were already out, all looking worried and upset. Sabo became nervous. What was wrong? Why did Ace have to seek out Luffy to calm himself? "What's the problem?" Sabo questioned worriedly, though his voice sounded strong. He was a captain, and he needed to be strong for his crew.

"The rudder was hit by a giant dolphin. It's ruined. And we don't have a shipwright," Deuce explained. All of them looked exhausted. It was dawn, and pretty early and had to wake up quickly. Sabo's jaw dropped in horror, before he calmed himself with a few deep breaths.

"Go get some more sleep, guys. There's nothing we can do about it now," Sabo said. The others thanked him and went back to their rooms, though they probably wouldn't be able to sleep any time soon.

Sabo followed after, but to look at what they had stocked. How long they could last. He went to the storage room and inspected their remaining provisions besides food that was already in the kitchen. He knew they had six blood bags left. Six weeks until one of the crew would have to donate for Luffy to continue being healthy.

They still had tons of toiletries, and he knew they had a lot of medical products since there had been no injury in a long time. They had a lot of remaining water. The non-perishables wouldn't expire for the next two months at the soonest. He then left the storage room and went to the kitchen.

The meat would not go bad for another four months, since most of the meat was fresh and frozen. But, that wasn't considering how much Ace, Luffy and Deuce ate. So, maybe a few weeks at most with the three monster stomachs being happily fed. They would just need to ration, which none would be happy with.

Vegetables and fruits would go first. There was enough flour left for tons of bread, the milk and juice would expire soon, though. They had enough provisions for at least another month. Then they were in trouble. Hopefully the wind would carry them to an island, but Grand Ling islands were far apart. They'd be sailing blindly. They really should have a shipwright. At least they had a doctor, though. That was the least they could ask for now.

The odds of another ship finding and helping them were small, but maybe a ship like theirs would come along, not pirates, and help them out. They did have wood, but most of that was used messily to patch any holes in the wood. Not to redesign and set up a new rudder. They could just make it worse and lose what was left of the rudder completely. Damn dolphins!

-x-

The crew kept the secret from Luffy for a few days. He wouldn't know they were going nowhere, since he was awake at night, when they were stationary and the anchor down. He wouldn't know they were stuck, and didn't understand time enough to realize they hadn't reached an island in a long time. That was the best they could hope for at the moment. A stressed Luffy would be stressed co-captains.

The whole crew used Luffy as a stress relief, many of them staying up at night and playing with the boy. They had fun helping him with his "training". The thing that they could all take part in was Luffy blindfolded, trying to differentiate the humans' different sounds of walking. Like usual, he could pick out his brothers more than the others.

It was the third week that Luffy realized something was wrong. His hearing had been getting better, so he could hear through walls if he focused enough. "_Do you think we'll die out here?" _he heard Jojo say. It was easiest to pick her out as she was the only woman.

"_Hope not," _a deeper voice said, not either of his brothers. "_But, if another ship doesn't come and save us, we're goners. Still haven't spotted any island, or even gone into one's climate. We might just sail blindly past them all." _Luffy's red eyes widened and he got out of bed earlier than usual.

"Ace, Sabo?" Luffy asked over the baby monitor.

"_On my way," _Ace's voice said. Luffy was nervous, were they really stuck? What had happened? Why didn't he know about this? They couldn't die, though. That sounded stupid, they wouldn't die. Silly Jojo.

Ace opened the bedroom door to find a troubled looking four year old. "What's up, Lu?" Ace asked with a smile. Luffy frowned at him.

"Are we in trouble? I heard peoples saying we're stuck," Luffy said in concern. "I heard through the wall," he added. Ace gave a sigh, and ran his fingers through Luffy's hair. He hadn't even really noticed the less frequent baths to conserve water.

"We are stuck, but we'll find our way to another island. Whether somebody else comes and helps us, or we're lucky and find an island to fix our ship at, we'll all be okay. We just are having to cut back on our food." Luffy was confused. He'd been eating his normal amount. Ace sighed, knowing what Luffy was thinking.

"Everyone has been keeping a secret about it because we didn't want to worry you. Which you don't need to do. We'll be okay," Ace promised. They had two more weeks until Lu ran out of blood bags.

Luffy's face brightened. "Okay! If Ace says so, we'll be okay," he said with a grin. He trusted Ace so much is made him feel warm.

"We'll always protect you. I promise," Ace said, running his hand through Luffy's hair. "It's still day time, so why don't you go back to bed? I'll wake you in a little bit. Okay?" Luffy nodded and snuggled back into his bed, the covers tightened by Ace, and he fell asleep.

When Ace exited the room quietly, Sabo was standing against the wall. He'd been listening to Ace speak through the open crack between the door and wall. "We should try putting up an SOS sign," Sabo said simply as they walked back out to the deck and away so Luffy couldn't hear them.. "Use your fire or something. I doubt we're going to just luckily sail to an island. If we do see one, we'll sail right past it." They were now speaking in whispers, making sure the youngest couldn't hear their pessimistic opinions on what was going to happen. Or not happen.

"I will. Just gotta hope someone good comes along. If not, we'll take their resources and burn their ship down. Deal?" They weren't abandoning their ship.

"Sounds good to me."

-x-

Ace laid on the deck on his back, Luffy resting his head on Ace's stomach. It was cold outside, and Luffy was wearing a little jacket with his pyjama bottoms on to keep warm, with fuzzy socks on. Ace, like always, didn't have trouble with the cold. The others besides Jojo were asleep. The chef was getting more and more nervous every time she opened the refrigerator and saw the dwindling food.

They had started to restrict even Luffy's food, just slightly. Because he had two meals a "day", he was one of the least ones to consume food. The blood he drank also helps with hunger for human food.

Ace had one finger up, which lead to a large, flaming SOS, high above the ship. Luffy was just entertained by watching the flames. It was the third night of doing this. Ace only stayed up doing it during the darkest hours of the night, when the ship was barely visible in the darkness, regardless of moonlight.

Ace was nearly asleep when Luffy heard a loud sloshing noise. He stood up, waking Ace more, and hurried to the side of the ship. There was a big shape slowly coming towards them. Luffy gasped as a blue and gold light came hurtling towards them and landed right in front of him on the railing, lighting the deck up with blue light.

It was a person! Luffy was in awe of the blue fire before Ace rushed forward and yanked the boy away and behind him, smooshing Luffy's face against Ace's side to keep his eyes not visible. It had just barely worked.

"Luffy, go back inside," Ace said quietly.

"But, it's a bird-man!" Luffy protested. But he ran back inside when Ace said, sternly, "Inside, Lu. Get Sabo." Ace was rarely stern, so Luffy knew it was a good reason. Was the bird-man a bad guy? He'd go get Sabo, like Ace had asked.


	5. The Whitebeard Pirates

**sairakanzaki: Aww, thank you. **

**Guest: Here's Marco! The best glowing pigeon ever.**

**Jordansdevil: Fluff is the main component of the story, so there will be no shortage of it in the future! **

**Idoray: I'm sorry! I have to make the ends of the chapters more hooking, even if you have to wait!**

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**The Whitebeards have arrived! I hope everyone enjoys Thatch and Jojo. Thatch is so cute. This chapter is longer than the other ones, so i hope it's good! **

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"What the hell is that?" Marco wondered, staring at the bright light in the distance. He called to one of the vampires on deck to turn the Moby Dick towards the light. When the ship grew closer, Marco could see that the fire was in the shape of a message. _SOS._ The ship wasn't moving, but it was also stationary for the night. So, what was wrong with them? Why was this ship needing help?

Marco had the ship stop, and drop anchor. They sailed constantly, since the vampires on the ship had a different sleep schedule, and someone was always on deck. Marco was the only exception because the sun didn't hurt him due to his regenerative devil fruit.

Instead of getting any closer to the ship asking for help, he set the telescope down and formed his wings, flying quickly towards the light. As he got closer, he saw that there was no pirate flag. It was weird to see non-pirate ships, but they were in Paradise. It was uncommon here, but nowhere near how uncommon and rare it was in the New World.

But, even though it wasn't a pirate ship, he felt multiple strong presences. He could tell that one of them was a vampire. That was good, they wouldn't get on their cases about having hundreds of vampires on their own crew.

The first person he saw was a child, very young it seemed. The commander had to wonder why a child was on a ship in the Grand Line. But, moments after he got close to the kid, an older teenager came and grabbed the boy - Luffy - and pushed him behind him. And hid his face for some reason. But then he realized that the vampire presence was the child. He held his anger at this. Marco didn't know these people. Maybe the boy had been dying and so they changed him. He wouldn't be quick to make judgements.

"You guys need help?" Marco asked, glancing at the fleeing little boy, going to go get Sabo, whoever that was. "I saw your SOS."

"Yeah… Our rudder was destroyed," the teen said slowly. "We're running out of food and water. Does your crew have any shipwrights who could help us?" The kid was clearly uncomfortable with the vampire so close, which puzzled Marco, since they had their own vampire.

"We do. But we don't have enough wood with us at the moment. I'm going to go check and see what it looks like," Marco said casually. He didn't want to freak the kid out, and whoever else was on the ship. He would ask to speak with the captain once he got back.

The vampire-phoenix flew to the back of the ship and let out a whistle. The rudder was mangled. There would be no fixing this with a patch up job. It needed to be replaced. That could take awhile. Until then, the Moby could tow this ship to the next island.

When he flew back, a blonde teenager of the same age was standing on deck with the original teen. Marco could sense the little vampire boy peeking around the doorframe. "Your rudder needs to be replaced, I'd say. Can I talk to your captain?" He realized he'd said the wrong thing when the black haired, shirtless teen, scowled.

"We're co-captains of this ship," the blonde said. "My name is Sabo and this is Ace." Sabo was good at hiding his fear, but Marco could sense it.

"Then we can tow your ship for you until the next island. There, our shipwrights can try and fix it up. I insist you come aboard our ship, though. I'm surprised any Sea Kings haven't attacked your ship yet," Marco said. "There's no need to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you. Besides, you have a vampire here yourself." Both teens grew pale, but Marco put his hand up to stop their panic attacks. "I don't know your story, or why you have a vampire child, so I won't judge yet. I will be back soon to hook up your ship."

The little vampire boy had run out and watched the bird-man fly away. "Ace, Sabo, did you see him! He flew!" Marco heard the boy say. It had been a long time since the man had been around a child that young. Poor kid would always be young. Did those kids somehow turn him? There were no other vampires on that ship.

Marco steered the Moby Dick to the smaller ship, where more people were now waiting on deck. Six of them excluding the original three. They watched him tie the chain to the front of the ship and hook it to the back of the massive one. Marco did it extremely smoothly, and soon the stranded ship was safely and securely attached to the side of the back of the Moby, out a ways.

A row boat was lowered down by Haruta, who had come out to see what was up and why Marco had flown away. The younger vampire was angry about hearing that this crew had a child vampire. The twelfth division commander had not wanted to welcome the small crew because of that.

Marco was by far the most chill and patient person on the Whitebeard Pirates crew. Marco rowed the row boat to the other ship, and had everyone get on. They all looked skeptical at the vampire, except the little boy. He kept trying to talk to Marco, but Ace and Sabo kept shushing him. They were clearly very scared of Marco, and he wondered what their story was. He'd ask later.

"There are many vampires on our crew, but none of them will hurt any of you," Marco said. "My name is Marco, and I'm the first mate of the Whitebeard Pirates." Everyone but the three youngest members on the little ship gasped. Clearly they knew of the large crew. Ace and Sabo looked at them nervously.

"Don't worry, our crew is strong, but not needlessly violent. There's no need to worry," Marco assured. Ace and Sabo gulped. The little vampire boy just kept ogling Marco, who kept himself on fire just for his interest. He was cute, but seeing a child vampire was unsettling.

Yet, Marco could hear the boy breathing, and his heart beating. What the hell…?

-x-

Ace held Luffy in his arms protectively as he and Sabo stood rigidly at the vampires around them. Red eyes everywhere, but they didn't sense any blood lust or violence, though one of the vampires was glaring at them. Probably because of the child vampire in Ace's arms. Sabo knew that they needed to make it clear at the beginning that they didn't turn the four year old.

"We didn't turn Luffy. He was born a vampire," Sabo said quickly. The other vampires looked skeptical. Vampires weren't _born. _Of course they were not believing them. Marco told him, "Why don't we talk about that in a more secluded place?"

Sabo and Ace both nodded. Marco turned to Luffy and said, "It's nice to meet you, Luffy. Are you thirsty?" Luffy shook his head.

"I'm hungry. I don't get to eat lots of meat anymore." Marco looked puzzled. Vampires didn't eat human food.

"Well, I'm sure we can find something for you in the kitchen. Let's go inside," Marco said in a civilized manner, now thoroughly confused about the cute little boy. The only woman on the other crew handed the boy a stuffed animal giraffe. Ace set Luffy down, but he and Sabo were on either side of him, with the two twins behind them. They all stood in some position to protect Luffy.

The ship was large on the inside, and they had to walk for five minutes, quickly, to get to the kitchen. Jojo gasped when she saw it. It was _huge! _But, that would make sense, given the size she knew the crew was. She, like the others, couldn't help but be nervous around all of the vampires. They, minus Ace and Sabo, knew that not all vampires were bad. Luffy didn't count, he was special.

But, the only vampire Ace and Sabo had come into contact with was the reason their mom was dead and nearly killed Luffy. They weren't fond of them before that, but especially not after. Luffy ran forward into the kitchen and looked at the seven, large refrigerators.

"Luffy, come back," Sabo said. Luffy pouted, but went back to his big brother. He was still wearing his pjs, and had slippers on now. He was the picture of adorable. Marco walked to the refrigerator and opened the one that held left overs. The others held foods that hadn't been cooked yet. The first mate pulled out a large plate of home-made, breaded chicken nuggets, and heated it up. Luffy sat at the bar counter after being lifted by his brother, and dug into the food. "Yummy!" he cried as he devoured every piece.

"Now, can you tell me about Luffy, here?" Marco asked as he sat on a bar stool a few seats away. These sailors - not pirates - were very protective of the little one, so he wouldn't get too close to the boy. He didn't want to upset these people.

Sabo was the one to explain, while Ace watched Marco like a hawk, his hand on Luffy's shoulder protectively. "Our mother was turned when she was eight months pregnant. It caused her to have a miscarriage, but Luffy survived. He still ages and eats food." Marco's eyes widened, clearly never having heard about anything like this happening before.

"Did she turn?"

Sabo shook his head, not wanting to think about their loving mother and what she'd gone through between the time she was starting to turn and then had the miscarriage. She… _died _before she fully was turned into a vampire.

Marco sighed. "You don't need to be worried about any of the vampires on this ship. No one will harm any of you, but I will have to pass along this information so the others don't grow angry."

"Are you a vampire, bird-man?" Luffy asked in interest. "I never met another one before!" the boy was clearly ecstatic about it. Marco smiled at him, though he felt that Luffy must have been extremely sheltered to have never met another vampire before. But, he could see why, after Ace and Sabo's story. The three were all brothers, apparently.

"Yes, I am. There are a great number of us on this crew. None as special as you, though." Luffy beamed. Unlike Marco, who could control his fangs, Luffy's were very visible, though they weren't as long as a normal vampires' were. "How old are you, Luffy?"

"I'm four. I'll be a big boy soon," Luffy replied, the chicken nuggets all gone. He patted his pleasantly full belly. Marco turned to the others. "Are you all hungry, too?" Ace shook his head, and then blushed when his stomach roared at just the wrong time.

Marco chuckled and went to the kitchen. "You can all sit down, no one is going to attack any of you," the vampire said calmly. He radiated calm. The crew slowly sat down at the long bar counter. Very long, almost the whole wall. The galley was massive as well. Ace and Sabo wondered just how many pirates were on this ship.

Soon, large portions of heated up, delicious soup was in front of all of them. Luffy was given a small bowl to taste it. The phoenix had a feeling he'd want to taste it. The eight sailors devoured the soup, all clearly having been hungry. Marco wondered how long they'd been rationing food.

"Are you all pirates?" Marco asked from the other side of the counter as he filled glasses of fresh water for the nine. He gave one to Luffy, not knowing if he drank water, which he did.

"No, sailors," Sabo answered. The soup really was delicious. Even Jojo thought so, and she hated eating other people's food. Unless it was a fancy restaurant. Then that was fine. Marco asked what they were doing on the Grand Line with a child. The whole crew seemed to look embarrassed.

"It was actually an accident. We were trying to get to the West Blue from the East Blue," Aggie 68 said. Marco looked at them incredulously, but he could see how they could have missed their chance. He had come from the South Blue, and when he went up Reverse Mountain on a trading ship, the minute they reached the top was so quick that it must've been difficult to turn at just the right time. He lost the look.

"I see. It is very difficult to climb up Reverse mountain from the Grand Line," Marco amended. "Though, you all seem stronger than just sailors from the East Blue." Sabo nodded.

"We had to, to protect Luffy," Sabo replied, running his hand through the now-tired little boy's hair. "You want to go to sleep?" Sabo asked, to which Luffy nodded and yawned. "Do you have any room we can use?"

Marco nodded. Jojo automatically took all of the bowls to the sink. Marco didn't tell her not to, though Thatch didn't like outsiders in his kitchen. But, she was making it so there was no work for those in the morning. Well, soon. It was approaching dawn. It looked like Luffy had a good internal clock, as he was sleepy near sunrise.

The ten walked through the halls, until they came to a dusty room that had a lot of bunk beds in it. They all shook off the dust from the blankets, but only Ace and Luffy got into the bed. They both fit alright on the full sized bed, though it was smaller than Luffy's bed at home.

"Sabo, I trust you to be smart," Ace said in a serious voice.

"I'll come switch in the middle of the day," the brother replied with a nod. Ace got up only to lock the door behind his crew and brother, trusting they could take care of themselves. And that this Marco was honest. None of them had bad feelings about him, even if he was a pirate _and _a vampire.

"Sleep time Lu- ," but he didn't need to finish his sentence for Luffy was already deep asleep, though he didn't look like melted butter as he was in his own bed. Ace laid down next to him, curling around the boy under the blanket.

-x-

"Someone has been in my kitchen!" Thatch shouted. The bowls were in the wrong place! Who was it? Who invaded his special space? He turned an accusing glare to all the people in the room, vampire and human alike.

"You didn't know already, Thatch?" Izo teased, wearing his purple kimono today. Thatch frowned at him, confused as to what his brother was talking about. "We have guests. There is a ship attached to the back of the Moby, being towed. Haruta says there are humans aboard and one vampire. A _child _vampire." Thatch looked horrified at the news. A _child vampire?! _Who would commit such a taboo?

Izo chuckled at him. "Don't worry. Apparently, he was born a vampire."

Thatch scoffed at him. "That's not possible, Izzy. Vampires aren't born, stop messing with me." But when he saw the expression that said that Izo was _not _joking, Thatch waited for the man to elaborate.

"Apparently, the boy's mother was turned while heavily pregnant. Had a misscariage, and the baby survived. Voila, a vampire who was born," he said as he opened and closed his decorative fan. "Haruta says he's very cute."

"How old?" Thatch questioned, still not quite believing it.

"He's four. Sleeping in one of the guest rooms with his human brother. I'm sure a meeting will be called after Pops knows about it," Izo commented. "I already know because Haruta told me. Poor dears, the teenage captains, are terrified of vampires. They were scared of Marco, apparently."

"Teenage 'captain'_s'? _Vampire child, multiple captains who are teenagers? What kind of crew is this?" Thatch wondered as he started mixing the giant tub of pancake mix. Izo shrugged.

"That's all I know so far."

"Still… someone else was in my kitchen!"

-x-

Sabo and his crew followed Marco as they passed vampires retiring for the day, though they didn't look nearly as tired as Luffy was once the sun rose. They got a lot of stares, being unexpected newcomers. They turned into a hallway that had seventeen doors, eight on each side, and one large door at the end. It hadn't gone unnoticed to the "guests" that the halls and door frames were very large.

Marco knocked on the large door, waiting to hear a gruff voice on the other side say, "Come in." Sabo and his crew didn't enter the room at first, until Marco entered and ushered them in. "I take it you're here to tell me why we are towing another ship?" The captain's quarters had a large window that looked out the back of the ship, where the Spade's ship was being slowly towed. The Moby dick was strong, and at least twenty times the size of the littler ship, so having that ship attached didn't slow her progress at all.

"This crew's rudder had been destroyed, and they asked for help. So I let them on. They seem trustworthy enough. We need to gather everyone before they grow angry with these sailors. They have a child vampire with them, but no one turned him." Whitebeard looked confused and curious, eyeing the strongest, Sabo, with slight suspicion. He also noticed how young this blonde was.

"Apparently, Ace and Sabo," - Marco pointed to Sabo - "are the kid's brothers. Their mother was pregnant when turned, and miscarried Luffy. But he survived, so now he's some sort of hybrid. Can you explain more, please, Sabo?"

"H-hi, I'm Sabo, co-captain of the Spade's crew. Luffy still ages and eats human food. He still drinks blood - which he thinks is juice - but he doesn't need it as often. Compared to your crew that I've seen so far, Luffy sleeps a lot more than the va-vampires on this ship," Sabo explained, his voice shaking a bit. Whitebeard took pity on the teen.

He smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about my vampire sons, Sabo. They are all quite old, so they have perfect control. Your crew and family will be safe. Now, what happened to your rudder?"

Sabo explained about the giant dolphins that broke their ship, and that it was a strong ship, but not the strongest as it was made in the East Blue. "It's amazing we made it this far," he said honestly. Ace and Luffy thought the ship was extremely strong, but it was just average in the Grand Line. Not too weak, but not as strong as Sabo's brothers thought it was. Though he didn't want to burst their bubbles, especially Luffy's.

"So you would like us to tow you to a place where we can fix up your ship?" Sabo was worried he'd offended the large captain.

"We can pay for it. We have some wood on our ship to use," he hurriedly said, but was startled when Whitebeard laughed.

"No need to be so tense, kid. Just learning there was someone like your brother out there is payment enough. I'd like to meet him, if that's alright?" Sabo smiled in relief and bowed in thanks. His crew followed suit.

Sabo was smiling and breathing in relief, trusting this captain that they wouldn't just turn on Sabo and his family. "He'll be asleep until sundown." Whitebeard looked surprised. "Luffy sleeps the whole day. We have a meal schedule just for him and either me or Ace is always with him." Sabo bowed in thanks again. "Are you sure you don't want us to pay, sir?"

"Gurarara, don't worry, kid. You don't need to pay. Besides, I think my sons will enjoy the challenge of replacing a rudder, as it's never happened to us before. But then, our ship is made of Adam's Wood, so it is completely different." Then he turned to Marco, who had quietly been waiting and listening to the guest and captain speak. "Marco, gather the others, please." Marco nodded once and then left.

Sabo and his crew watched in confusion. "He's a vampire, but ate a certain devil fruit that keeps him healthy in the sunlight, and he doesn't sleep much. Some of the commanders will have gone to bed, but most will still be awake or at breakfast." He then turned to the others, who had been silent the whole time, nervous of the large captain, but also shocked at just how big he was. Those who had heard of his crew knew he was large, but not _this _big. "And who are you?" But he didn't sound mean.

The group introduced themselves and their positions. They were slightly surprised no one had said anything about the many guns Zeno and Sparky had attached to them. They gave off no hostile feeling, so maybe that was why. No one would say anything about it though. They each knew that the twins would be uncomfortable with their guns taken away, even if they didn't need to use them.

The silence was a bit awkward until Sabo did his best to fill it. "So, do vampires not sleep all day?" He still sounded a bit uncomfortable, but Whitebeard was nice and didn't comment on it.

"It depends on the age. Some vampires, if they're old enough, won't need to sleep at all. Luffy is a child, so it makes sense he'd sleep a lot as a vampire. Did you and Ace raise Luffy?" Sabo nodded. "That's impressive, kid. Raising a non-human child on your own? With no sort of guidance. You must really love him."

"Of _course _we love him. He's our little angel. He was a miracle baby," Sabo said with a genuine smile. Whitebeard gave a knowing smile, and Sabo wondered what he was thinking.

"How long have you been sailing? You clearly aren't pirates, you fly no black flag or jolly roger," the other captain replied.

Sabo finally sat down, setting his cement pipe down next to him, propped against the wall. Having it against his back while leaning against the wall would have been uncomfortable. "We set sail when Lu was two. That was two years ago. Me and Ace were both sixteen. Deuce was the first to join. These are the only humans we ever allowed near Luffy. We trust them completely. Like family."

Jojo smiled. "We are family, Sabo," she said, getting a grin from Sabo. Whitebeard had that knowing look on his face again, but didn't get the chance to say anything before commanders started filing in. Sabo could see some with red eyes who looked tired. Those six sat down, and the other seven were standing or leaning against the walls. Sabo could clearly see who were vampires, even if they were all wearing sunglasses.

They were each more pale than the others, and even the dark skinned ones still had a paler complexion. They each had perfect skin. It bothered Sabo how attracting vampires could be. They were even more so than little angel Luffy, who anyone who laid eyes on him would love. Sabo looked away and to the floor.

A large man, human, with black hair in a strange style, looking like three balls on his head, asked in a gruff voice, "So you didn't turn a child?" Some of the others, vampire and human alike, also looked at Sabo with disdain. Nobody approved of taking away a child's future. To always have the brain of a young child. It was even debated whether saving a child from death was worth the fact they'd always have the simplistic brain of their age.

"No, Luffy was born," Sabo said, then explaining what he had to Marco and the other captain. "You can meet Luffy when he wakes up to prove it, if necessary," Sabo offered. He didn't want these pirates to not believe him. Luffy had always been kept secret, so he'd never had this response before. The ways they introduced Luffy to the members of their crew was as a human first, before taking the glasses off and explaining the secret. And only the six they picked knew the story. Well, until now.

A human named Thatch, as he introduced himself, asked which one of them had been in his kitchen. Apparently he was the chef. Jojo raised her hand. "I'm sorry, all I did was wash the dishes that Marco served your soup in," the cook said. Besides, Luffy was the one that really ran around it. Though he didn't touch anything.

It seemed Thatch somehow hadn't seen Jojo, and when she spoke to him, he became flustered. "Ah, oh, well, it's okay I guess," he mumbled with a blush. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by the female cook, but she didn't comment on it. It was adorable.

"The soup was delicious," she said. "Is it okay if I can make Luffy's blood candies in there? We ran out shortly before Marco-san found us. I don't like anyone else in my kitchen either, so I can understand if it's a no." Sabo and the others stared at her in shock. Jojo was _never _this polite. Well, they were on a foreign ship with strangers, so she probably wouldn't be her blunt self. She'd lost the crass swearing when she met Lu, a three year old at the time.

Thatch looked even more flustered, looking at his shoes as he replied, "You can cook as long as I'm in there, too. I like my kitchen a certain way." Apparently, this behavior was out of the ordinary to the other crew. They were dumbfounded with Thatch's behavior, even more than the Spades had been for Jojo.

A man who Sabo had initially thought was a woman, chuckled behind an open fan. Thatch glared at him. "You don't shy away from blood foods?"

"No, I'll cook what Luffy likes. He mostly get's left overs, since he eats much much later than everyone else, but he still likes the food, so I'm thankful for that," Jojo replied. "At first I was uncomfortable with the blood, but knowing Luffy likes the food is worth it."

Izo, the cross dressing man, said, "So, you only cook for nine people, including yourself?" When Jojo nodded, Izo made a "Hmmm," sound. The Spades didn't know what that was supposed to mean.

"Jojo has special recipes for each of us. If we're having broiled chicken, she'll flavor each one differently for our individual preferences," Saber commented.

"I wish I could do that, but theres over nine hundred human pirates on the ship for feeding. Can't cook for each one individually, it would take _forever," _Thatch said dramatically. "I don't know how to make blood candies, though. I've made regular candies, so I guess blood candies wouldn't be so hard."

"If we'll be here long, I'll show you," the female cook said politely. Thatch blushed again. Jojo had to press her lips together to not laugh. So adorable. Though not nearly as adorable as Lu.

Haruta came forward, one of the vampire commanders, and apologized to the Spades for thinking that they were monsters who turned a little boy. Sabo said that they understood where he was coming from, and that they would never want to change a child into a vampire.

A swordsman with a top hat and a long mustache then asked, "What happened to your biological family?" Sabo's expression instantly hardened.

Instead of answering the question, Sabo replied with, "Don't ever ask that question in front of Ace. And I'm not going to answer, it's none of your business." Some of the pirates were shocked with the change in Sabo. He had been polite and even nervous, and now he was angry and defensive. Not even their crew knew what had happened to the trio's mother and father, besides the fact that their mom died before turning into a full vampire.

"I apologize," Vista, the one who asked the question, replied politely. "We will not ask that question again." Sabo nodded in forgiveness and approval for no one asking about it. "Can I ask about how you formed your crew?"

Sabo thought for a moment before answering, "Some of the recruitments were very personal. You can ask our crew if you want to know. Me and Ace won't say anything, and Luffy was too little to remember most of the recruits." When the pirates turned to the others in question, none of them said anything, effectively shutting down the pirates questions about how they met.

Though this made all of them painfully curious, _most _knew the concept of personal space. Most. Not all. Like Izo and Thatch, who want to know everything about everyone. Whitebeard gave them both stern glances, telling them not to be nosy, but even Whitebeard didn't know how his sons got their information on everyone. Had to be underhanded tactics, and he didn't want those two to try it on these kids and their crew.

Izo and Thatch looked grumpy at the expression, but they got the message. They'd only learn about it from the Spades' mouths.

Only Sabo's crew noticed that he closed up. They knew to never ask about Ace and Sabo's lives before they left to be pirates.

"I'm going to go switch with Ace," Sabo said in a hard voice, standing up and slinging his pipe over his back. "Can someone take me to them?" The Spades knew that Ace and Sabo were planning to switch in the middle of the day, but Sabo needed Luffy. He was upset about remembering that horrible past and needed to forget. Best way to forget your problems for the brothers was to go to Luffy.

"I'll lead you there," Marco offered, realizing that Sabo needed quiet. Having lived for over two hundred years let you read people's emotions clearly. It was a reason Marco was the one most confided in. He could offer good counsel after all those years.

Whitebeard's age was also a reason so many flocked to him. Older vampires attracted more people, surprisingly, because they knew so much. They'd seen a lot, and had a better understanding of the world.

Sabo memorized the route to the spare bedroom and knocked on the door. "Ace, Lu? It's Sabo," he said. There was a creaking noise as Ace got off of the old bed, and came to unlock the door and let Sabo in. The blonde entered the room without a word for Marco. Ace locked the door behind them.

Marco wouldn't let any of his brothers pester these two for their life stories. Not if it was clearly _that bad._ When Sabo had been asked the question about their family, Marco and a few of the others saw the haunted look that came across his face. No, they wouldn't bring that subject up again.

* * *

**There is a chapter in the future about what had happened to their family, and it's a heavy one. But, not any time soon, so look forward to that one! Made me cry, writing it. **


	6. Meeting New People

**Guest: Don't worry, more cute Luffy to come!**

**Jordansdevil: There will be sadness and angst, and I hope I make people cry! MWAHAHA!**

**DragonFire Princess: Thank you! Hope that was a good "WOW" lol.**

**sairakanzaki: In a couple chapters the one-sided feelings will begin! I wonder who will like who?**

* * *

**A longer chapter, enjoy~**

* * *

"What happened, Sab?" Ace asked quietly. They were both sitting on Luffy's bed, holding either one of his little hands. It washed the stress out of Sabo like water washing away something dirty.

"Someone asked about _them," _the blonde whispered, gripping Luffy's hand slightly tighter with those words. But then Sabo's body relaxed and he laid down next to Lu, kissing the little boy's forehead.

Ace stiffened when he heard that, and all of those bad memories flooded back, but he gripped Luffy's hand, and the memory of their mother begging for death disappeared. Though, the memories would haunt the black haired teen's dreams. _Nightmares. _

Thankfully, it was just bits and pieces. Their kind mom, so happy about being pregnant with another baby, even if she and he were thrown away like trash again. But then, it was covered in blood and sobs, wishing for death, begging for the life of her unborn baby. The feeling of blood, _her _blood, flooding along Ace's hands. Of killing that vampire that ruined his family. That _evil _man, the one who was evil even before turning into a vampire.

"_No! I will always love my baby! My Luffy...!" _

But, it was like Luffy was a drug, and the second the boy entered Ace's nightmare, it wasn't a nightmare anymore. Not with their angel in it. Could never be a bad dream if it included Lu. Ace hadn't realized he;d drifted to sleep until he woke up not much later, looking at Sabo's miserable face, even when he was sleeping. Ace knew the ordeal had been worse in some ways for Sabo than Ace. Sabo rejected the idea, but Aggie had diagnosed him with PTSD. That was when they recruited him, though Sabo didn't like the diagnosis.

But Ace knew it was true, they just never talked about it, and everyone knew to never mention even the _words _mother or father. They didn't know what had happened completely, just that it had been bad. And… messy.

Ace knew whoever asked about it hadn't known, but he was irritated that someone would ask something like that without even knowing them. The black haired captain wouldn't leave the room until Sabo awoke and could tell Ace what had happened while he was with Luffy. But Sabo needed some good dreams right now.

Sabo woke up a couple hours later, Ace having been awake the whole time, focusing on the good feeling from Luffy. "Sabo, did you notice he feels… _more _than usual?" Ace asked quietly. Sabo nodded, knowing what his brother meant. About Luffy feeling "more".

"The sun will be setting soon. The day went by really fast," Sabo mumbled. They both heard Luffy's tummy rumble, and he mumbled a syllabul. "I feel bad for leaving the others, but I don't feel like these guys are going to do anything bad."

Ace frowned. "At least, not yet." Sabo frowned at him.

"Ace, not every vampire is bad. Just cause we've only met _one _bad one, doesn't mean all of them right?" When Ace didn't respond, Sabo said, in a lower voice, "Luffy is a vampire."

Immediately, Ace snapped, "Luffy's different," though quiet enough to not wake Luffy up. They let him wake up on his own. "Besides, Luffy isn't a _full _vampire. It doesn't count," the captain insisted. Sabo sighed, but they erased the tense atmosphere when Luffy opened his big eyes.

The boy looked a little confused as to where he was. This wasn't his bedroom… "Where?" he asked with a big yawn, exposing his slightly rounded fangs.

"We were rescued by the bird-man vampire. Remember, then we had some yummy soup? They let us have this room for us to sleep in. Do you wanna go meet some other vampires?"

"Like me?! Right?"

"Very similar to you. But you're more unique. No one is like you, Luffy," Sabo said with a grin, rubbing the boy's hair roughly. Luffy giggled.

"I never get to meet new people!" he cheered, jumping out of bed. He didn't mean to, but those words made the brothers feel guilty. They kept Luffy sheltered for his own safety, but it was true. Luffy didn't get to meet new people since Ace and Sabo hoarded and hid him safely on their ship. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern after seeing his brothers frown.

"It's nothing, Lu. Let's go meet some new people," Sabo said and took Luffy's hand, Ace taking the other. "Make sure to tell us if someone makes you uncomfortable, okay? And tell them if you want them to get away."

Luffy wondered why he would need to say that to someone. They were all nice here, right? "Mm'kay," the boy said, moving on from the topic and swinging both his hands with his older brothers'. "I'm hungry, let's go get some food. Jojo is here, right?"

Sabo perked up, shocked that he and Ace completely forgot to talk about what happened while Ace was with Luffy. It didn't take long to summarize, and the three were on their way. They wondered what their crew had been doing while they were all cooped up in one room. Though they went there willingly.

Apparently, dinner was held later on this ship, so people could eat together if they wanted to. Luffy was unused to eating with so many people. He rarely got to eat with the rest of the crew, let alone tons of strangers. He couldn't wait to meet more vampires! Did they drink the same juice as him? Did they like juice candies, too? He hadn't had much time last night to talk to Marco. He was more focused on the bird-man aspect, not that he was a fellow vampire.

The three brothers ended up in the busy galley, with people talking and laughing, the smell of food and blood filling the air. It all smelled good to Luffy, but the thick scent of blood was a bit gross to the human brothers who weren't used to such a potent smell of it.

"Are you Luffy?" a kind looking man asked. Luffy nodded and grinned. "Nice to meet you, kid. Vampires are always welcome here, no matter wha-" and he collapsed the moment he shook Luffy's small hand. Luffy jumped in surprise.

"Are you okay?!" he shouted, crouching next to the limp man. Sabo pulled him away a bit, not knowing what had happened. A crowd gathered around them, everyone looking suspicious. "What's wrong with everyone?" Luffy asked in worry.

A commander had run over, one with a strange water-melon hat, and asked the collapsed human if he was alright. They all looked at the man who collapsed, who was slowly coming to. He had the warmest smile on, and started talking about someone named "Lisa".

"The hell?" the commander asked. "Who is Lisa, Alby?"

"My daughter," Alby said, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. Luffy looked concerned.

"Is he okay?" the boy asked nervously. "Did I do something bad?" He had no idea what was going on, or why the man had collapsed. Ace pulled him into his arms when the giant man came over to inspect. He didn't look at Luffy suspiciously, just curious and confused as to what happened to Alby.

"What happened, son?" Whitebeard asked the commander. "Lisa? Alby, Lisa died seven years ago. Are you feeling alright?" Alby didn't respond, and Luffy was now feeling guilty. He was about to start crying in shame, because he _had _to have done something wrong if it made someone sick!

"Thank you!" Alby cried, looking at Luffy with wide eyes. No one knew what was happening, least of all Lu himself.

"Pops, try 'n touch him," the man said, finally coming to his senses, and smiling brightly at Luffy. At his words, Ace pulled Luffy in closer, and growled at anyone trying to touch Luffy. The poor boy was so confused as to what was happening.

"May I?" Whitebeard asked slowly, reaching out a finger to Luffy. Luffy stuck his hand out, which was the size of Whitebeard's thumb. They touched too soon for Ace to yank Lu away. Everyone waited for a moment, wondering if the captain was going to fall down as well. He'd crush multiple people, so his sons had gotten out of range in case he did collapse.

It was lucky no one had drawn any weapons on Luffy. It would just scare and confuse him more. Thankfully, Whitebeard didn't collapse, just let out a sigh and had a pleasant smile on his face. "Ace, Sabo. Do you know what 'haki' is?" When the boys shook their heads (they had only gotten into the Grand Line recently), Whitebeard explained it to them simply. Then he said, "Luffy seems to have unique haki. If you want to call it that. Do you two feel really good after touching him?"

"That's sick!" Ace exclaimed. Sabo smacked his hand to his face.

"Ace, I seriously doubt he meant it like _that!" _the blonde snapped, embarrassed by Ace's assumption. At least he had the sense to look embarrassed as well. "You mean feel lighter and happier after coming into contact with him?"

"Precisely."

Ace mumbled, "Yes. I thought it was just with us. No one else feels that. Ask the crew," Ace said, not knowing if all of this was a good thing or something screaming at them to flee. Well, they had nowhere to go anyways.

Marco came up, and reached his own hand out to Luffy, who brought his hand to the bird-man vampire's. Thankfully, Marco didn't collapse either. So maybe it was just something wrong with the original guy, Alby?

"Well, it does look like Luffy has unique haki. Almost like a modified conqueror's haki, though it feels nothing like that. But, it incapacitated Alby. And no offense, but Alby can't handle any king's haki. It's a type of haki that can knock out weaker willed people around you. Your crew probably didn't feel anything like this because they were never exposed to any sort of haki," Marco explained. "Of course, this is all speculation."

Poor Luffy was so confused. "I didn't do something bad?" he asked timidly, wide eyes shiny with oncoming tears.

"No, Luffy. You made him feel nice, like you do your brothers. He just wasn't ready," Whitebeard said kindly. He hadn't been around true children for a long, long time. He called his sons "children" but they were far from it. The oldest being two hundred and eleven years old. The youngest was twenty six. A very long ways from four years old.

"Oh, okay!" the boy chirped, relieved he hadn't done something bad. "Are all new people like this?" he asked his brothers. They were ashamed to say they didn't know. Luffy never met new people, so he could react like this to everyone. It could also have not affected the other Spade members since all of them had been sailing with the brothers for over a year. Maybe they just got used to Luffy's "haki" before it developed more.

That was what Ace was willing to believe, because his crew members were not weak. Hell, this _Alby _was weaker than their weakest. Jojo didn't collapse from briefly touching Lu, and this man was a Whitebeard Pirate? Ace inwardly scoffed.

"Hungry?" the teen asked, instead of mocking the man Luffy had apparently helped. How thinking of a dead loved one was good, Ace didn't know. Thinking about his mom never felt good, and she was dead.

Luffy nodded, and asked to be put down. Ace hesitated for a moment before he set the boy down. He guarded Luffy as he walked with the boy, Sabo on the other side. The two teens were uncomfortable with all of the curious stares on Lu. At least none of them were hateful or disgusted. Luffy was soaking in the attention, smiling at everyone and willingly touching their hands.

Ace wanted to stop him, but it didn't seem to be hurting anything, and those who touched his small hand had a small smile on. When they finally broke free of the crowd and approached the kitchen, Ace sat Luffy down on the same barstool from the night before. Well, the early morning before.

The chef, Thatch turned around to see the little boy, and just about dropped the massive strainer of pasta. Ace and Sabo looked at him warily, wondering if he would collapse just by looking at the boy. But instead, Thatch shouted, "HE'S SO CUTE!" A few pirates burst into laughter at the reaction. "Aww, my name is Thatch. Did you like my soup last night?" he asked, sounding giddy.

"Yeah, it was yummy! Jojo makes better soup, though," Luffy said innocently. Thatch frowned like a child. They heard a familiar chuckle and turned to see Jojo walking over. She looked very tired. "There's our loyal Luffy."

Sabo frowned at her. She looked exhausted. "Jojo, why don't you go to bed? We're all sharing the same space." The chef just smiled at her captain and waved her hand dismissively.

"I just wanted to make sure there was no negative reaction to Luffy. I ate not long ago, so I'm calling it a night. We'll move the things tomorrow. Night," she said and walked away. Ace and Sabo were about to ask what she meant about moving things. But Izo, the crossdresser explained for them.

He had his fan open, and behind it, said, "You nine will be here for awhile, so you have to move your important items. We wouldn't want you to lose everything if something happened to the small ship behind us. Right?"

Sabo nodded, where Ace was looking around them with narrowed eyes. Everyone was watching Luffy and it made Ace extremely uncomfortable. Lu didn't seem to notice anything strange, and if he did, he wasn't bothered one bit. Thatch was in the kitchen, cooking up something specific for the boy.

For all of the brothers, really. Ace and Sabo hadn't had lunch, but were distracted enough during the day to not notice, and Sabo spent a great deal of the day asleep. Man, their sleep schedules will be so messed up now. They wouldn't leave Luffy vulnerable and asleep all alone on this ship swarming with strangers, many of them vampires.

The trio were served a dish with rice and octopus, lots of vegetables included, with Ace and Sabo having water. Luffy was served blood, the pirate assuming Luffy consumed it more regularly than he did.

When Luffy smelled the contents of the lidded-cup, he said, "Mr. Cook, why you give me juice? I don't need it for more days." The pirates around them looked puzzled, before it clicking that Luffy didn't know he drank blood. He was told it was juice.

"Oh, sorry about that, Luffy. Would you like some water?" Thatch asked helpfully, giving Luffy the glass of water when he confirmed that was what he wanted. Some of the vampires watched Luffy eat with a frown. Was it really that weird for a vampire to eat human food? Ace bristled under the attention.

Sabo turned to the side, smiling politely at the vampire commander who judged them first, Haruta, and asked where the rest of their crew was. Apparently, they were given free reign of the ship. These pirates sure trusted them. Though, vampires had much better senses than humans, so they must have been able to tell the Spades were good people, and wouldn't turn on their helpers.

Aggie 68 was in the infirmary, apparently in love with it. The nurses, because they didn't have a doctor, were keeping him entertained with equipment in the much more advanced infirmary. The others had visited the training room, and the twins had been escorted to the weapons room, just because they were curious.

Apparently, Deuce had been guarding the hallway that held the spare room they'd all be sharing while the brothers were asleep. He was extremely loyal to the captains and their little brother. It really made the pirates wonder why he was so damn loyal that he'd play the watch dog all day.

"Many of them have probably retired for the night. After all, they'd been up all day and the night before. They must be exhausted," Haruta replied. Luffy was listening while he chowed down, Ace doing the same next to him. Sabo was eating like a normal person. Not like his two brothers. Luffy was fine, but Ace's eating was embarrassing him.

"Are you a vampire, too?" Luffy asked after he swallowed his food. Haruta nodded with a smile. "There are lots here?" The vampire nodded again. Luffy grinned, little specks of rice around his mouth. Sabo took the napkin placed next to Luffy's plate and wiped his mouth gently.

"Do you go outside in the day?" the boy questioned. When Haruta shook his head, Luffy said, "I get sunburned when I go outside and it's itchy and hurts! I don't like it."

Those around them looked surprised. The vampires on their ship can't be outside in the sun or they'd quickly grow ill and die. Marco was the only exception. Even the captain had to stay in the shade at all times or he'd grow ill himself. His chair had a room around it with tinted windows, so dark the sun didn't get inside, but he could still see through them.

The crew had originally all been vampires, and _then _the humans started joining. The family accepted any who would fit with them, human or otherwise.

Suddenly, Ace turned to the captain slightly suspiciously. "Why were you awake all day? aren't you a vampire, too?" So why wasn't the man only just now waking up?

"Gurarara," he laughed. "I'm many hundreds of years old. I don't need too much sleep. I can sleep for a night and be able to stay up for the next two days. Then I get to spend time with _all _of my children." Luffy looked at him in surprise.

"You have lots of babies!" he exclaimed. Being four, Luffy had no idea how reproduction worked, but he knew babies turned into adults. Whitebeard laughed again.

"My children are not blood related, like you are with your brothers. I've adopted them, meaning they are my children in name, but we share no relation," the captain explained patiently. Luffy didn't understand much of what he said, but he got the gist of it. This was a big family. Sooo many people! Were they all siblings? Brothers, like Ace and Sabo were to Luffy?

"How many people are on this ship?" Sabo questioned curiously.

"Sixteen hundred, not including you nine or the captain," Marco answered. Luffy commented on how it was a big family. And then that he liked having a smaller family, because he knew each of them more. "Well, at least with a big family, there's always someone around to talk to or play with," the phoenix said to the child.

Luffy chirped, "Ace or Sabo is always with me! Even when I sleep, though sometimes they leave but come to wake me up and then we play and eat at night," the boy explained happily.

Marco turned his gaze to Ace and Sabo. "They sound like good big brothers, Luffy." The boy nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Then Luffy changed the subject.

"Is there a bathroom here? We are all smelly cause we can't take showers cause it runs out of water and that would be bad."

The pirates around them chuckled. Looked like Luffy was very honest, though Ace and Sabo took no offense. Even when Lu was honest, or blunt, it was never to hurt someone's feelings. And the two already knew they weren't the best at singing. Luffy had inherited the good voice from their mom, and it was probably enhanced due to him being part vampire. "Yes, we have a bathroom with a very large bathtub that I'm sure you'll enjoy. You'll be on this ship for at least three more weeks, and maybe even longer depending on what island we reach. We never went on this route through the Grand Line, so the islands are surprises," Izo explained.

Sabo asked, "So you are New World pirates?" The longhaired man nodded.

Luffy raised his hand high and asked Thatch for seconds. The cook gladly served him another heaping bowl, along with Ace, whose bowl was also empty. Sabo was still working on his first bowl, and the crew wondered why Sabo ate so much less than his biological brothers. Marco thought it could be because Ace seemed to have a devil fruit.

"So, Ace, you have a devil fruit?" the phoenix vampire asked. Mouth full, Ace just nodded. He explained what it was after swallowing the delicious food he had yet to give proper compliments. "It was smart to create a signal out of fire, though you're lucky you ran into us and not some other pirates."

Ace scoffed. "All the pirates we've come into contact here were easy to get rid of," the teen said. "Our crew is designed to be able to protect. Their character and specialized skills came later."

The pirates saw Ace glance to Luffy, and they knew what was needing to be protected. And it was true, that even if they weren't closely tied to Luffy, he was very valuable. He needed to be kept secret or sick vampires might try experimenting, finding out that Luffy was possible.

But, the circumstances had to have been very specific. How was Luffy delivered? How did Ace and Sabo know how to take care of a vampire _baby, _something that had never existed before. At least, that one of the oldest vampires "alive" hadn't heard about. Surely, if it had happened before, Whitebeard would have heard it somewhere in his hundreds of years of being a vampire.

"Was it hard rasing a vampire baby?" Thatch asked curiously. He wasn't asking about the brothers' family past, but they were all curious about how the two teens raised a baby vampire. Sabo had just finished his food, and ran his hand through Luffy's slightly oily locks.

"Luffy rejected any baby formula. And it was expensive. He got sick from not having his _juice, _so Ace snuck into a hospital on the island and stole some. We started feeding him regular food when his teeth came in. He didn't drink regularly, which we had trouble with, since a human baby had to be fed all the time, but Lu would get sick if we fed him too much juice. So, we settled on two feedings a week, the rest regular food. Now he feeds once a week, every Sunday night. Other than that, Luffy was like any baby. Alive, breathed, used the bathroom, cried, etc."

"Ace and Sabo say I'm special," Luffy added, now asking for thirds.

Thatch replied, "Well that's very true." Luffy beamed at him and then the food, which seemed to not be running out despite pirates coming and getting seconds and thirds. Then again, this crew needed to have tons of food to support the hundreds of humans that ate food.

Sabo turned to Marco, and asked, "How often do normal vampires drink?" The brothers knew practically nothing about how full vampires lived. Besides how they were taught as children by their island. They'd killed _that _vampire before they knew anything about how he was living, besides attacking humans. The two brothers wondered how the pirates would react if they knew that Ace had killed a vampire, and a human. A very special human to them, that he'd killed in cold blood. Asked to or not.

"It depends on how old they are. Pops and I can go a few days without blood, where younger vampires need to feed daily or multiple times a day," the first mate replied honestly. "Some enjoy drinking more than others, and they even mix blood and rum to make 'bloodwine'."

Ace looked at the table very darkly, not making eye contact while asking, "And do you drink from the source?" in a very cold voice.

"No. We drink donated blood. Never from someone unwillingly. Some of our human members donate, but it is voluntary and no one is required," Whitebeard assured. "We've told you we have control. All of us," the captain insisted. Ace nodded his head. He had always had a harder time trusting people. He refused to make the same mistake as their mother. Over time, not trusting people made him suspicious of strangers. And all of these pirates were strangers he didn't trust. Ace wanted to go back onto their own ship. Their safe space. He didn't like how many people were focused on Luffy. These _strangers _he didn't _trust. _He wanted all of them to get away from Lu.

"Alright, everyone disperse," Marco said, clearly noticing Ace's discomfort. It made Ace uneasy that he had been so easy to read, but he didn't say anything about it. He reached to the side, unconsciously, and put his hand on Luffy's. The one that wasn't patting his finally full belly.

The humans and vampires alike left and the crowd dwindled until it was only a few commanders and Whitebeard around them. Some were seated at the counter, like Izo and Haruta. Izo was rapidly growing tired and finally said goodnight. It had been a long day, and it was coming close to ten. So, he bid everyone goodnight after handing Thatch the dirty bowl to wash.

Him leaving seemed to trigger many of the humans taking their leaves to go to bed. Ace, Sabo and Luffy were so used to being alone while Lu was active. But there were so many vampires on this ship that there was no way they'd be alone. It was uncomfortable, but only for the older two. Luffy was excited to be meeting new people and other vampires.

Luffy suddenly frowned, gaining Ace's attention. "What's wrong, Lu?" he asked the boy.

"I want my books," he replied with a pout. "I wanna read a story before bed."

"Luffy, it's not even close to bed time for you. But, I can go get the books if you want. To read later," Ace offered. Luffy nodded. But, Marco stopped Ace.

"I can go get them for him. It's dangerous for a human to go get on the ship in the middle of the night. If vampires go get it, we can just jump from the back of this ship to yours. If you're okay with that," the phoenix offered. Luffy nodded his head, liking the sound of Ace being safe.

Sabo agreed, too, to Ace's irritation. "Why don't you make a list of all the belongings you'd like us to retrieve?" Marco asked. A sheet of paper was handed to Sabo, with a pen. Sabo turned to Luffy, who began to list all of the toys he wanted. The pirates had to wonder how much this boy was spoiled with love and toys. Sabo had to put a limit on what toys he wanted because there probably wasn't enough room in the dressers in the spare room for them.

Most of his story books were also proposed, but Sabo had him limit these, too. They were going to go back to their ship, it wasn't going to sink while attached to the large Moby Dick. Sabo requested his journals and ship logs. Ace didn't have many personal belongings besides photos of him and his family or crew. He didn't want to seem like he was the only one who had nothing, so he just wanted the photo books on the side of his room. There were still lots of photos on the walls in the ship, but many of them were duplicates of the ones in the photo books.

Marco gathered some of his vampire brothers to go on the Spade's ship and retrieve some things. The other members' weapons and personal artifacts in their dressers werre requested as well. They told the Spades they would be on the ship for only a minute so as not to intrude in their home more than necessary, which the three brothers appreciated.

After Marco left, Luffy turned to Sabo and asked, "Can we take baths? We don't have to save water anymore, right?" The two older brothers looked to the nearest commander, who took them to the bathhouse with a friendly smile.

As the four went down the corridors, passing many vampires (Ace was stiff the whole time), Luffy commented on how big the ship was. That he would get totally lost. "That's not true, Lu. I'm sure you'd be able to find the kitchen and the crew," Sabo said with a bright smile, bringing one to Luffy's face as well.

"So you have good senses?" Haruta asked the little vampire. Luffy nodded his head while looking bashful at the same time. He wasn't used to people other than his crew complimenting him. Well, actually, he wasn't used to people at all.

"Luffy can pick apart me and Ace out of everyone else by scent and sound," Sabo bragged for his little brother. Haruta smiled brightly, and told Luffy that it was quite impressive, bringing a brighter smile to Luffy's face.

"Thank you," he said shyly. It was a new behavior for his big brothers. Well, he'd rarely been around new people before, and why would he be shy around his long time family? Ace and Sabo felt another stab of guilt at this. They were realizing how sheltered and trapped Lu was with how they were all living. Trapped on a ship, or when he was a baby he'd never once left the house that he was "born" in. The brothers just wanted to protect him, but he'd been missing out on so much.

But at the same time, it was all to keep him safe and secret. Did they do wrong? Or were they doing what was best for him? It troubled both greatly, and the duo were confused and lost about it. "What is wrong?" Luffy asked his brothers. They realized they'd slipped and both, simultaneously, conjured their Luffy Smiles.

"Nothing is wrong Luffy. Ace here is just jealous of you."

"Really?" Luffy asked in disbelief. "But Ace gets to do so much stuff! He can go outside in the day and leave the boat!" he exclaimed, not understanding why anyone would be jealous of him. He didn't know that that was a nail in the coffin of Ace and Sabo's guilt. They would both be talking to Luffy about this in private.

When they reached the bathhouse, it was an entrance next to the men's bathroom and across from the women's. The Spade's ship didn't have separate bathrooms from the bathhouse. The bathroom was the sink, toilet, and bath tub. One of the three only had a shower. So, Luffy had never taken a bath in a huge tub, and when he saw it, he gasped and ran to the side.

"Ace, Sabo, it's like a pool!" Luffy exclaimed. Ace stopped him from ripping his clothes off and jumping into the warm water. "But I wanna go inside!" he complained, tugging at his shirt. Ace smiled at him fondly.

"Don't you want to know the rules? This isn't our ship, remember?" the raven haired captain said patiently. Luffy blinked once and then nodded in understanding. The three brothers turned to Haruta in question.

"Feel free to bathe as long as you want. The water will stay warm the whole time. Luffy is old enough not to soil himself, so the only rule is to not knock the majority of the bathwater out. Some is fine, just not most or all of it," the vampire pirate said before closing the door behind him. Ace locked it the minute it closed. He turned to see Luffy ripping off his shirt and bottoms and jumping into the water.

Sabo undressed after him, and said, "Luffy! This tub is big right? Do you think I'll fit?"

"Sabo _and _Ace will fit!" Luffy cheered, walking deeper into the water. "But Ace can't sink, okay? No sinking!" the boy warned, pointing his finger at Ace, who had settled with sitting on the edge of the giant tub.

Sabo lead Lu back to the side of the tub where Ace was, and said, "You're not going to drown in a foot of water propped up. We won't let Ace drown, will we?"

"No!"

"See? You can relax in the water, we're here. Besides, when was the last time all three of us could take a bath together?" Luffy honestly didn't remember ever being able to. "Last time was when you were a tiny baby, Lu. Me and Ace were in a normal sized tub with you. When you would cry from being hungry and we didn't have enough juice, we'd take you to the bath so you'd fall asleep so one of us could go get juice," Sabo explained, running water through Luffy's dirty hair.

The three relaxed in the tub, Luffy floating on his back and staring at the bright ceiling lights. Ace was looking at hands while he sat in the water, completely limp and helpless, but Sabo was there to help him, and Luffy would never let Ace be hurt on his watch.

"Hey, Lu? Do you resent us for keeping you on the ship?" Ace asked timidly. "Resent means to be mad. You never get to leave the ship because we say so. Do you hate that?" Luffy looked up at the ceiling again, thinking.

He didn't _hate _Ace and Sabo. He could never hate his brothers. While he did want to go places and meet people, he knew it was for his own good. Well, that was what they said. Luffy didn't know what bad people were like. Maybe they were really everywhere and Luffy would be in danger if he ever step foot off their ship.

"Not _hate _Ace and Sabo. I want to explore, but Ace and Sabo say it's not safe. So I stay with them. But it is fun meeting new people!" Luffy explained with a bright smile. The brothers felt lighter after hearing Luffy say those things, though they didn't know if their bright star was even capable of feeling hate.

"We'll take you off the ship more once we leave here," Ace decided strongly. He didn't need to ask Sabo because he could practically feel the guilt and shame radiating off of him. Luffy's face lit up. "Really?!"

"Really. Promise," Ace replied, putting his pinky out. "It's not fair to trap you on the ship. We'll just make sure you have a lot of body guards." Luffy beamed and splashed in the water happily. He got to go on land! In a couple weeks, but he could wait that long. He was so excited now, though!

The brothers washed each other, Luffy scrubbing Sabo's hair messily, while Ace bathed the little vampire. By the time they left the tub, they were all cleaner than they had been in weeks. Now, they didn't smell bad anymore. They rummaged through drawers and found brushes to untangle their hair.

Luffy's hair was the most cooperative as it was straight and shorter than the older brothers' hair were. Ace's was wavy and had a tendency to get tangled when he ran his hand through his hair when nervous or stressed, and Sabo's was naturally curly and got in tangles by itself.

The brothers dressed in the clothes they'd been brought in, in which case was Luffy in his mismatched pjs and Ace and Sabo in regular clothes. Luffy was barefoot, which he usually was as he was either sleeping or walking around his home, which had no splinters. When they came out, a passerby told them Marco had moved their things to their crew's shared room, which the others besides Aggie 68 were sleeping.

The co-captains wondered if this would be a problem. If they all had separate and opposite sleep schedules. There was absolutely no way that Ace and Sabo would leave Lu alone _anywhere _on this ship, even if it was him sleeping peacefully in a bed all day. They wouldn't leave him so vulnerable. Especially now that he was everyone's special interest. The boy didn't notice everyone staring at him as he jabbered away to his brothers about how nice taking a bath with them had been. And they had to agree. Not taking a bath together since Luffy was a baby… it had been a long time.

Ace and Sabo had no trouble with bathing together with Lu, but neither of them would take a bath with just them in a tiny ass tub. They had a feeling that that might make them seem a bit creepy, but Luffy was only four. It was fine, at least the them and their small crew.

After awhile of being out on deck and watching the stars move, Luffy talking happily about being around so many people like him, he yawned, the tell tale sign of dinner time. They arrived in the galley, dozens of greetings from other vampires or humans who chose the opposite sleep schedule, and went to the kitchen, where Thatch was. Did he ever leave the kitchen?

"It's time for our dinner," Sabo announced. Apparently, this wasn't unusual, but they were having it later than most of the others. So, they were served some very delicious spicy chicken and buttered, freshly baked bread. Luffy loved it. And of course, had multiple servings, before it was bed time.

They quietly entered the bedroom, where someone had unscrewed one of the bunk beds and pushed it against another, making a single bigger bed for the brothers. They wondered if the pirates would be upset with that.

"Okay, Lu, we have to be quiet so we don't wake the others up," Sabo whispered as Luffy pulled out one of his books he liked. Of course he couldn't read the titles, but he recognized the cover. He nodded and put a finger to his lips. It appeared their clothes had been brought as well, and the three changed. Sabo and Ace into their own pyjamas, while Luffy changed into his regular t-shirt and some comfortable shorts.

Ace laid down next to Luffy while Sabo sat on the other side, reading the book to Luffy quietly. Like always, Luffy fell asleep quickly. And, knowing they were all safe in a room full of their crew, the two captains fell asleep quickly as well, all under the two blankets draped across them.

* * *

**A little peek at that dreaded and depressing chapter. It's a tearjerker. Review!**


	7. Talks of Mother

**Shorter chapter this time and some emotions in this chapter. Enjoy~**

* * *

Marco sat at the table with his father and captain, both drinking some bloodwine. Usually, they would have drunk it earlier, but it seemed that Ace and Sabo had refrained from teaching Luffy that the thing he lived on was blood, and not some sort of juice. They could see why, though didn't know if it was the best thing to do. Luffy was part, or even mostly, human, so maybe knowing he drank blood from humans would have upset him.

On the other hand, if he had been told it was blood from the start, it may have never bothered him. They would never know whether that was true. So, asking for bloodwine instead of "juice" would have given it away. Maybe. Luffy seemed like a clueless child. He definitely acted his age. And Ace and Sabo had taken remarkable care of him considering they would have been middle aged teenagers when the boy was born. More specifically, miscarried.

No one could imagine how horrible that situation must have been. What the boys would have had to do to deliver the baby from a turning mother. Whatever had happened then, it could be the reason Ace was so terrified of the vampires, even if he did an okay job of hiding it. But the two oldest vampires could tell his true feelings. He must have mastered hiding his emotions from Luffy.

"Their ship is very quaint," Marco said. He had just finished delivering all of their belongings to the bedroom, making sure to be silent while the humans slept. "Luffy's room seems to be the one most lived in. Toys and drawing papers scattered all over the floor, a big and comfortable bed for all three to fit on, bookshelves full of books and pictures. It was a very loving room.

"I honestly could never live on a ship that small, even if we had a small crew. I don't know how Luffy can deal with being in a dark room most of his life, and then never allowed off of the ship," Marco sighed, feeling bad for the boy.

Whitebeard took a bug gulp of his massive mug and said, "They are doing it for his protection. Luffy is one of a kind, who wouldn't want to get their hands on him? Probably would sell for a good price honestly. It's sickening, but true. You know that." Marco nodded sadly in agreement. "Plus, he has no choice but to be in his bedroom most of the time. He's fully nocturnal and needs a lot of sleep. Human children require a lot of sleep as well. Luffy is just lucky he has such a loving family to stay up with him.

"They had the right idea about not sailing with a black flag. Not only would they be targeted by Marines, but other pirates asking for a challenge, or looking down at their small vessel that is _clearly _not suited for the Grand Line," the older vampire said.

They were quiet for a moment, both wondering what the Spade's plans were after getting their ship fixed. They couldn't continue to the New World, and didn't know how to get back to the Blues. "What did you feel when you touched Luffy? Alby saw his dead daughter," Marco said with interest. Whitebeard smiled.

"I saw all of my sons happy and healthy," he replied. "It was a nice sight to see after Julian passed. We still have to fill his seat." The second division commander had grown sick from poisoned blood on an island and had died when he passed out and left in the sun to burn to death. They found his body, since younger vampires could die but not disintegrate once in the sun too long. "What did you see?"

Marco gave a small smile. "Saw my old family alive and happy." It had been hundreds of years since Marco was turned and his family murdered, but he still missed his little siblings. That's why he enjoyed having a big family of younger siblings, even if they were all adults.

Though honestly, having a child sibling again would be nice. But, the "guests" were only with them out of necessity for safety, food, and water. Plus, Luffy needed blood. The vampires could tell that Luffy had never fed off of any of the sailors who came with him. Not even his brothers. You could always smell when another vampire had fed off of a human. There was an underlying scent of the vampire who did it.

Ace and Sabo seemed to be mostly raising Luffy by his human side. Though they still made handicaps for Luffy's difference. Like the "juice" and making sleep changes so he wasn't all alone at night and the only one awake. Though he seemed extremely happy to be around other vampires. He was the only one on that ship, so seeing and meeting others like him was exciting for the boy.

"Do you really think that was haki? What kind of haki makes you feel _good? _Usually, strong haki is uncomfortable. Not soothing and nice," Marco pointed out. The captain paused for a moment, knowing that he must have seen through his bluff.

He took a large sip of his rapidly disappearing mug of bloodwine, and replied, "No, I think that wasn't haki. I just felt it would be best for them to not worry if something was abnormal about Luffy. More than already. I've never met anyone, human or vampire, who felt like that. Luffy truly is one of a kind," the yonko vampire explained.

Marco then remembered the meeting that day with the guest crew. Really, it was a tiny crew, but they weren't pirates, so that shouldn't be too strange. Although they didn't have a shipwright, at least they had a doctor and cook. Speaking of the cook…

"Have you ever seen Thatch so flustered?" Marco asked with an amused smile. Whitebeard laughed too, though quieter since many of his children were asleep and his laugh was loud and echoed through much of the ship.

"Well, he was speaking to a pretty, _female _chef. The only women we have on this crew are the nurses, and there are no attractive, female cooks. And the fact that she isn't squeamish around blood made it even better. It was entertaining to say the least," the captain replied. Marco chukled.

"The cook, Jojo, right? She could totally see what Thatch was acting like. Wonder if she was just manipulating him to fluster him," Marco wondered.

"You mean like the way you and all of your brothers do?" Whitebeard pointed out with a cheeky grin. Marco look unashamed of the fact that that was true. Everyone did their best to fluster Thatch, mostly because it was entertaining, but also payback from his pranks.

"They all seem like a good bunch of people," the captain said. "A close-knit family. Did you notice Ace and Sabo were the only ones uncomfortable? The brothers of a _vampire? _Something must have happened to them involving a bad vampire. Poor brats."

"Probably something to do with the vampire who almost killed baby Luffy. But no one will ask them that, like Sabo had demanded."

"They're good kids. And considering that our shipwrights might be good, but they aren't professionals and the fact that the rudder has been damaged inside the ship, too. They'll need professionals to fix that up. It's a good thing we're in Paradise and can reach Water 7. It'll take awhile, but the Spades don't seem to be heading to one place in particular, so time isn't a problem," Whitebeard said. "The sun is up, so I'm gonna hit the sack. You should get some sleep, too."

"Roger. Goodnight."

-x-

Ace woke up to gentle patting on his cheek and a whisper of his name. "Ace, Ace, I gotta go to the bathroom," Luffy whispered tiredly. Ace sat up slowly and uncovered himself from the blanket, yawning. There was no clock in here, and he wasn't going to wake the others by opening the curtains.

Well, that would be a problem for Luffy, but it seemed everyone else had already gotten up. Ace wanted them to all have the same schedule, since the captains would need and wanted to speak with them. Ace and Sabo would do what they did on their own ship and take turns sleeping with Lu.

Luffy crawled off of the bed next and lifted his tired arms to be carried. "Gotta hurry," he mumbled. Ace quickly walked through the halls, passing a few people who were decent enough to pause in their conversations to not disturb the very tired little boy. Ace quietly asked directions to the nearest bathroom, which was thankfully just around the corner.

It seemed to be a single stall bathroom, so Luffy went in by himself. He didn't take long, but had to stand on the toilet to reach the sink sideways and wash his hands. He left the bathroom, jumping to turn off the lightswitch, and met Ace back out in the hall. The brother carried Luffy back, and he fell back asleep in his arms.

Ace was almost more uncomfortable with humans looking at Luffy. He just couldn't win. Scared of the vampires and suspicious of the humans. But he just couldn't help either. He gave off warning looks to the curious humans. Ace knew he was making himself seem unlikable, but these were all strangers. He had trouble building trust with people. They had to meet too many conditions to be trustworthy to him.

Once Ace tucked Lu back into the bed next to Sabo, he quietly left the room, finding a pad of paper in the desk drawer in the corner and writing a note for Sabo and that he'd switch in a few hours.

It was after lunch time, so the galley was nearly empty, though the kitchen wasn't. Jojo was in there with Thatch, with some blindfolded pirates sitting at the counter. A cook-off most likely. Jojo seemed right at place in this kitchen and was using the massive stove easily, like she'd been using this kitchen her whole life.

Ace could tell that she liked the large area and plentiful counter-space. Enough so Thatch was cooking just fine, neither in the other's way. The whole galley smelled delicious from whatever the two were making. When Ace got closer, he could see that both of them were making the same thing, but in different ways. Definitely a cook-off then. He wondered how Thatch would react if his crew liked Jojo's more than his own food.

Ace sat down, unblindfolded, and waited for them to be done cooking. When they set the large plates of seasoned chicken no the counter, Jojo finally came back and was out of cooking-mode. "Hey, Ace. How're Lu and Sabo doing?" she asked as she served the plates of her own chicken to the five pirates. Thatch did the same.

"Luffy is enjoying it here. He's happy to meet more people and vampires," Ace replied honestly. Thatch seemed to brighten even more about that. Ace wondered how much sleep this guy needed if he was awake all night and now after halfway through the day. He wasn't a vampire. It was curious.

"That's good. How is Sabo?" she asked again.

"I think he's okay. Not nearly as happy as Luffy, but that's to be expected. Before you ask about me, my answer is: I'm fine," Ace said pointedly. Jojo got it and didn't ask again, not in front of strangers.

"Now, my brothers, tell me which ones taste better," Thatch said excitedly as the pirates took off their masks. It was hard to tell the dishes apart, though one had a glaze on it and the other looked to have grill marks on it. They smelled similar, but probably tasted differently.

The judges tasted both of them, and apparently they were both delicious. Thatch leaned against the counter while Jojo was wiping her hands on a washcloth. Four of the seven pirates voted for the glazed one, while the other three voted for the one with grill marks.

Thatch's face formed a pout. "You like her food more than mine?" he whined. Jojo had a triumphant grin on. She thanked the pirates for their compliments, though the four looked guilty for voting on another's food and not their own chef's. Ace then got his own serving, and recognized the honey-orange glaze on Jojo's chicken. Though Thatch's was delicious as well, it was clear to Ace who had won, even if Jojo hadn't been his own chef.

"I'm glad they got my apron for me," the female cook said as she washed the pan she'd used, scrubbing the sauce off with a rough sponge. "This is a really nice kitchen," she added, wiping down the counters next. She always did a thorough cleaning of her kitchen after cooking anything. "How on earth did you find such large kitchen ware?" she asked as she returned the pan to the cupboard it had come from, glancing at the side that had the massive mixing bowls in it.

"Elbaf has some of the best large cooking ware. That's where we got most of our kitchen supplies, besides utensils us normal sized people use. Pops also needs big kitchenware and utensils, since he's so damn big," Thatch replied, cleaning up his own place, and taking the orange peels from the orange Jojo had used and putting it in the compost bin on the other side of the room.

Ace took a drink of orange juice given to him and asked something he and his brothers had been wondering. "Why is he so big? Is he part giant?" he asked curiously.

"Nah, he's just big. If you think he's big, then you clearly don't know who Big Mom is. She looks like a giant, but she is human! It's insane, how could normal sized humans have such a huge child without the mother dying during childbirth?" Thatch didn't mean to, and didn't remember at the time, but the wording of the end of his sentence made Ace glower and the air around him feel cold, despite being made of fire.

Jojo looked nervous with Ace's expression. When Thatch realized he must have said something very wrong, he remembered about the trio's mother dying after giving birth. They didn't know the whole story, but Thatch felt very bad for what he said, even if he meant no harm. "I'm sorry, I didn't think before I said that," the cook apologized sincerely.

"Don't say anything more," Ace said and left the room, heading back to Luffy. Part of him knew it was unreasonable to get mad at a near-stranger for an accident like that, Ace had a temper and he didn't want to say or do anything to mess the whole thing up.

He entered the room Lu and Sabo were sleeping in and sat down on the bed next to Luffy's head. He gently ran his fingers through the soft hair. Sabo was still asleep, so Ace didn't wake him and stayed silent, not moving the bed much after sitting on it. Neither of his younger brothers woke up, and Ace was content just to see how relaxed they looked. Unlike him.

-x-

Ace didn't come back out until two hours before Lu came out. He was in the room for over six hours, alternating between reading and sleeping on the shared bed. Sabo must have been extremely exhausted since he stayed asleep almost the whole day.

When Ace left, he went to go eat an early dinner. He was very hungry, and couldn't believe Sabo hadn't woken up yet. When he thought about it, Sabo had missed lunch and hadn't eaten since 4 AM. Then, Ace got worried. Was Sabo sick? Did someone on this ship poison him?! Jojo didn't cook their breakfast and Luffy's dinner. Thatch did. But Ace didn't feel suspicious of Thatch. He seemed too honest to pull off an assassination.

Plus, he had to have known one of the Spades would have retaliated. Ace would have murdered him and anyone else he was capable of before the vampires stopped him. When Ace took servings of the freshly made food, with pirates slowly trickling in, Thatch had apologized again. Jojo was gone somewhere else.

"I really am sorry, Ace," Thatch practically begged. The teen finally caved, and forgave him, though the response was a bit snappy. Thatch seemed fine with it though, and grinned before walking back to the kitchen, looking much happier than he had before. Maybe Ace overreacted. Thatch didn't kill Sabo.

After he finished his food, Ace went back to the shared room to see Sabo was comforting a crying Luffy. The eldest brother quickly closed the door behind him and hurried to the bed, kneeling next to Sabo holding the boy.

"What happened?" Ace asked desperately, very worried. Luffy rarely cried, well besides when he was scared of Grand Line things.

"He had a bad dream," Sabo said while rocking the four year old gently. "Dreamt that we were both gone, and then when he saw you absent, it scared him. But, Luffy, Ace is right here. We'd never leave you alone, especially now that we're some place other than home."

"I wanna go home. I want my bed," he cried. Even in the darkness, Ace and Sabo could tell his face was bright red.

Sabo hugged Luffy tighter and Ace ran his hand through Luffy's hair gently. "Home isn't safe right now. We know how much you love your room and bed, and this bed isn't nearly as soft or comfortable, but we have to make due until the next island, where the pirates said they can fix our ship up."

"How long?" Luffy whimpered. When Sabo said he wasn't sure, Luffy burst into louder tears. The brothers didn't know what to do to make Luffy feel better, so Ace went out on a whim and started singing a song that their mother sang to him and Sabo when they were little. If their mother had lived, Luffy would have been sung the song every night to put him to sleep. A normal, human baby, being sung to by their mother.

Knowing that Luffy would never have a mother still hurt their hearts. By the end of the song, Luffy was singing it quietly, too, while Sabo continued to rock their baby brother. Sabo didn't have a good singing voice. Luffy and Ace were much better singers. Even if Lu weren't a vampire, with the gifts he had, Ace and Sabo felt he would have been a good singer anyways. Like their mom.

Once Luffy calmed down a bit, he couldn't go back to bed and asked to be read a story. Sabo was the best with story time, as he was a good voice actor for the different characters and narrator. Luffy was moved to Ace's lap as Sabo sat next to him, the light by the bed on, so the boy could see the pictures in the book.

Once the first book was read, Luffy requested another, and another, and all of the ones that had been moved to this ship. They only stopped once Luffy's stomach grumbled. "I wanna go home. I don' wanna go outside," Luffy mumbled.

"How about Sabo goes and brings our dinner to us? We can eat in here, where it's just us until the others come to sleep. Then we can keep telling stories quietly or go outside. We can climb the crowsnest and look at the stars. Our crowsnest is nowhere near as tall as this ship's. Sound good?"

When the boy nodded, Sabo left to fetch his and Luffy's dinner, as Ace had already eaten. He hadn't had time to tell Sabo about what happened with Thatch. Maybe he shouldn't say anything. Being with Luffy had calmed him, and now he had to focus on turning that pouty frown upside down.

"Ace, what's a mom?" Luffy suddenly asked. Ace froze, not knowing what to say. He knew that they had never talked about their mother, but he didn't know Luffy never even knew what a mom was. He hadn't been around people with families, so he wasn't exposed to what was a "normal" family dynamic. With a mother and a father with their children.

"Why do you ask?" Ace questioned gently.

"I heard you say 'sorry mom' when you were sleeping. What's a mom?" Luffy wondered. Ace grew pale. He didn't know Luffy heard that, or was conscious at all when he was asleep during the day. Was he aware of what was happening around him as he slept, or did he just wake up at the right moment?

Ace sighed, before starting his explanation. "Well, a mom is someone who makes a baby. Then, she takes care of her baby and raises it to be an adult."

"Are you my mom then?" Luffy asked, confused by the explanation.

"No, Lu, me and Sabo are your brothers. Our mom isn't around anymore. That's why we never have talked about her," Ace said.

"Where did she go?"

"She… she died, Luffy. That means she's gone away for good. You'll never get to meet her. I'm sorry," Ace whispered, tears in his eyes. Part of him knew it wasn't completely his fault she was dead, and Luffy never got the warmth of a mother, but he also felt so responsible for stealing that from Luffy. Taking that wonderful person who would have loved him - _had _loved him - away. Luffy would always be the baby of a broken family.

The boy looked concerned when Ace started to weep. Luffy had never seen Ace cry before. He brushed the tears away from Ace's face, still not understanding where the mom went. "Ace and Sabo are good mom." Ace let out a choked sob at this and held Luffy close and tightly. He wanted to get rid of the tears before Sabo came back. He didn't want the pity, or to pass along the pain to Sabo.

"Let's not tell Sabo about this. We don't want him to feel sad, too. It happened a couple of years ago, but it's still hard to talk about. Your mom loved you very much. Just know that. She loved you with all of her heart. And she'll always be with us, even if you never knew her," the teen said soothingly. Ace would some day show Luffy photos of their mom, but not yet. It was still fresh, what happened, even if it was almost five years ago. He would always carry the guilt, even though she had begged for it.

"Is Whitberd a mom?" Luffy wondered. Ace then explained what a dad was. Luffy was less curious about that, since Ace never cried about that. "But, what is the difference of a mom and dad?"

"A dad is a man, while a mom is a woman. A woman like Jojo, but she isn't our mom," Ace was quick to add. He didn't want Luffy to start assuming Jojo was a mom by using her as an example.

"Can she be?"

"No, Lu. Our mom will never be replaced, even if Jojo wanted to." Luffy frowned. Why did Ace and Sabo get to have mom but he didn't? That wasn't fair. But Ace was looking sad, and as much as Luffy still wanted to know and understand more, he didn't like seeing Ace sad.

So, he caved with an, "Okay."

Sabo entered the very next moment, and didn't see Ace's red face, even when turning the lights on. Ace didn't want to worry his other brother, too. Sabo set down the meal, having a trolley that had four servings on the top rack and bottom, for Luffy and Ace and Sabo to share. Ace was glad Luffy was completely distracted by the food, which was delicious, though neither knew whose cooking it was.

Luffy wanted to ask Sabo about mom, but he didn't because Ace asked him not to. He just ate contently, forcing himself to not think of mom… But it was hard not to. He wondered what mom looked like. Was she pretty? What was pretty? Luffy wanted a mom, but more a fluffy one! Like a bear. A bear mom! But bear moms don't have people babies and they can't talk. But what if they could? Luffy let his mind wander as he ate, staring at the wall, but completely distracted. And no longer crying, to his brothers' relief.

-x-

Marco sat on the highest yardarm, feeling guilty for hearing a conversation that was clearly private and intimate. He had walked past the Spades' temporary room and heard Ace and Luffy speaking. It was hard not to overhear things when you had both vampire senses, and a phoenix's senses.

So, even as he walked away down the hall, his mind focused on hearing that conversation. Why would Ace feel sorry regarding his mother? Was it a reason that Sabo had commanded them not to bring up family history with Ace? It was curious. And sad. Luffy clearly didn't understand death well, and didn't like the fact that Ace and Sabo had a mother but he didn't, even if it was out of anyone's control what had happened.

But, Marco had a sinking feeling that the brothers' mother had died in a much more tragic way than during childbirth. For, if that was the cause, why would it make Ace feel guilty? With the knowledge that the mother was turned while heavily pregnant, she must have been on the cusp of being completely turned when she miscarried.

All vampires knew how violent and volatile, not to mention ravenous, newborn vampires were. And not newborn like Luffy had been. Vampires who were just turned. And a newborn vampire would go after anything smelling like blood, no matter how much they didn't want to deep inside.

A baby was born covered in blood. She would have killed her baby and her older children. He couldn't imagine any mother wanting to go through that. Marco could only guess that one of the brothers, or someone else at the scene, had killed their mom to protect Luffy. Ace probably killed their mother, and that was why he felt guilty.

Marco didn't want that to be the truth, but he had a feeling it was. Which was why Ace was more reactive to that subject than Sabo was. Sabo had been upset, but his warning conveyed the reaction would be much worse if brought up with the other brother.

He would mention his thoughts to no one, not even Whitebeard.


	8. Dreams and Illusions

**In this chapter, a lot happens. It's a VERY long one, too. Like, crazy long. The next chapter will be a flashback to the brothers' past and the birth of little Luffy. It's intense but not too graphic, really. I'm officially done with my Fall 2019 semester! One more class next semester and I'm graduated! Anyways, enjoy~**

* * *

Ace and Luffy walked down the tall hallways and to the deck. They were going to go look at the stars from the crowsnest, which was much higher than their own. Sabo was returning the silverware to the kitchen before joining his brothers. The two passed a few vampires on their way, Luffy greeting them very friendly.

Everyone's eyes seemed to light up when they came across Luffy. Ace understood why, even if Luffy didn't give off some mystery feeling. He was adorable and had the brightest smile on his face, even if Ace could tell it was a bit dimmed after his bad dream and sad/confusing conversation with Ace.

"Hang on tight, okay?" Ace asked as he crouched for Luffy hold onto his neck and wrap his legs around Ace's middle before he began to climb up the rope to the crowsnest. Marco was out, sitting on the yardarm across from the mast that the brothers were climbing.

Once the two were up, Luffy waved to the pirate with a smile. Ace thought the knowing look on Marco was uncomfortable. Ace turned his back on Marco so he didn't see him and that look. The first mate soon flew off, making Ace sigh in relief. Marco made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was the constant bored look he wore. Like he felt nothing about his surroundings until he wanted to make an impression on someone, like smiling at Luffy.

Sabo climbed up not long after the oldest and youngest brothers were settled. Luffy was situated laying across Ace's stomach as they laid flat and looked at the stars. Ace noticed Sabo was carrying a thick book, and asked what it was. Luffy looked to the side to see what Ace had asked about.

"It's a book full of fairy tales," Sabo said with a smile. "Thatch gave it to me. Told me which stories were kid friendly. Do you want me to read some to you, Lu?" Luffy nodded his head with a smile. He could hear people below them and walking around the deck, but once Sabo started to read about princesses, magic, and adventures, he was able to tune out everything.

Luffy enjoyed the stories very much. They continued the story between his meals, which were beef stew and baked potatoes. It was Sunday, so Luffy got his cup of "juice". The pirates were amazed that the vampire boy could live off a cup of blood a _week. _Honestly, some of the vampires were jealous he could go so long without it. He slurped it down like it was water, nothing special. Like it wasn't overwhelmingly tasty like it was for regular vampires.

The only thing that was similar to normal vampires was that his red eyes grew brighter while he drank, but that was it. After his dinner, more stew he requested, he went to bed with Ace and Sabo. After a few hours of sleep, Sabo would wake and go talk to the pirates and ask when they thought the next island would be seen and what kind of island it was.

Then, Luffy dreamt, and the whole ship was thrown into chaos.

-x-

Marco was on watch, like he often was, and was patrolling the deck when he blinked, and the entire environment changed. The sea was no longer there, and instead of it reaching the horizon, reflecting the night sky, it was a grassy plane, with _unicorns _grazing on the grass.

The deck under him changed from wood into cobble stone. He looked around in confused panic, seeing the Moby Dick shift into a large castle. The crowsnest changes into a tower with a tall spire. The vampire was shocked, and wondered if he had passed out or was hallucinating. Instead of walking and risking falling into the water, if this was an illusion, he flew.

He flew towards the entrance of the castle, which had been the door into the ship. Even the inside of the ship was different. The walls and floor were stone, but luckily, no windows to burn the vampires inside. He heard screaming and shouting in panic and confusion around him.

"Everyone stay calm!" Marco shouted once he reached what had been the galley, that was now a large mess hall with old kitchen appliances. Thatch's food was no longer what he'd been cooking, but candy and sweets, and large chunks of freshly cooked meat that the cooks hadn't made.

"Marco, what the hell is going on?" Thatch asked in bewilderment. Everything felt so real, and he could touch the new food and candies. "Is this some sort of illusion? Cause I can touch everything!"

"I have no idea. I'm gonna go find pops. Try and calm everyone down," Marco instructed, as pirates were filing in, freaking out and utterly confused. Marco ran past them and down the halls, his haki thankfully still working so he could find his way to the captain's room. The interior felt bigger as it took him longer than usual to find the bedroom.

Whitebeard was just coming out of the room, looking at everything and touching the lamps on the sides of the walls that hadn't been there before, but were now the source of the light in the hall. "Pops! What the hell is this?" Marco asked, hoping Whitebeard could explain it.

Then, they heard a female voice, that sounded like Jojo, but higher pitched. "Help! Prince Luffy!" The sound echoed around the castle, like the voice was coming from everywhere.

"I'll save you!" the four year old's voice called, coming from what they assumed was outside. The captain and first mate looked horrified. Was Luffy outside? In the sun?! They both ran down the stone hallways, and made it outside. There was Luffy, wearing a cape, running around the deck, completely fine. Whitebeard was in the doorway, out of the direct sunlight. Marco was fine in the sun.

"Luffy! What are you doing out here?! It's not safe!" Marco called. But Luffy didn't seem to notice them at all before a unicorn appeared in front of him, and he jumped on top gracefully, and seemed to ignore all of the pirates who were still outside where the deck had been. "Luffy! Wait!" Marco shouted, but Luffy was off, and his steed was racing up stone steps that had suddenly appeared.

Whitebeard seemed to suddenly understand, and Marco asked what he thought this was. "I'm betting this is Luffy's dream. His brothers were reading him fairy tales, weren't they?" Whitebeard asked, an uncharacteristic amazed grin on his face.

"If that's true, then this should be over soon. Dreams only last from twenty to thirty minutes." Marco looked up to see dragons flying above the castle that had been a ship fifteen minutes ago. "This can't be a dream. It's too real," Marco muttered. The grassy plane still reached as far as they could see, with no water visible at all. Like the ocean didn't exist anymore.

Everyone heard the damsel in distress shout "thank you"s to Luffy, who had apparently saved her. The dream fizzled out a few moments later and everything returned to normal. The creatures roaming the sky and grass disappeared and the sea returned. There was no castle anymore, only the ship. The deck was back to being wood.

Pirates stopped freaking out, and were now just confused. It seemed none of them came to the realization that it had all been Luffy's dream. "That was incredible," Whitebeard said, though it had also been very dangerous. Someone could have attacked the ship while it was changed. They didn't know if anyone else besides them saw the dream, or how far it stretched.

Marco turned and walked back into the ship, heading for the room Ace, Sabo and Luffy were in. He quietly opened the door, to see all three still sleeping peacefully. They hadn't woken up from it, like many vampires had, who were confused in the hallway. Whitebeard didn't tell anyone else his conclusion. He didn't know how they would react.

"Calm down, sons. It has ended," the captain assured calmly. He didn't assure them that it wouldn't happen again, as Luffy would probably have more dreams. Hopefully they were short. When he reached the Spades' room, he found Marco staring inside in bewilderment, something he rarely conveyed.

When the captain looked into the open doorway, he saw that the bedroom was no longer how it used to look. Instead, food was piled in every corner, giant tubs of soup, huge chunks of meat and piles of blood candies. Luffy, who was sleeping on the bed with his brothers, was also in the corner with his brothers, chowing down on the food in front of them. None of the dream brothers noticed the two men in the doorway.

The scene lasted for maybe a minute before fading. The two waited for a little while, peeking through the crack in the doorway so light wouldn't get in and wake the brothers. Luffy had very random dreams, but none were as big as the long one that took over the entire ship. Luckily, all of the dreams were pleasant, multiple ones having to do with food.

After fifteen minutes of no more dreams, the pirates quietly closed the bedroom door. "If he could do that with a dream, unintentionally, how powerful do you think he could be if he mastered that power? It took over all of my senses. Could you see through it?" Marco asked as they walked down the halls and to the galley, where most of the pirates were, confused and sharing conspiracies.

"He would indeed be very powerful. It even fooled me. Though, my haki could tell me where everyone was," the captain replied. Marco agreed, as he could still use his haki as well. He felt bad for those who didn't have good observation haki. Did they think they were suddenly teleported to some imaginary world? Because Marco was pretty sure unicorns don't exist.

But, at least the boy seemed to enjoy his dream. Sure has a good and descriptive imagination, even changing the inside of Whitebeard's bedroom. It was incredible and shocking. Though, there was no one like Luffy in the world, so what could they expect to happen? They couldn't.

"Do you think Ace and Sabo know about it?"

"No, I don't. It hasn't happened yet and they've been here a couple of days. Maybe this has never happened before. They didn't even wake up from any of the noise. Luffy and the princess he saved in his dream's voice echoed everywhere. How could they not hear it?" Both vampires wanted to know more.

Though, if this now would happen regularly, what would they do? What if Luffy had a nightmare that affected the entire ship? When they entered the galley, everyone turned to the captain, hoping for some answers. The two leaders would only tell some of the commanders the news.

-x-

It was around lunch time when Sabo came out of the room, yawning widely. He was confused when many of the pirates he passed looked uneasy and confused. The hot topic apparently, that he could hear, was some devil fruit attacked the ship. At least, that's the most common one he heard.

None of the brother's heard it, so Sabo tracked down Aggie 68, who was in the infirmary. He seemed to be getting along very well with the nurses. He was surprised to find him with Deuce and Saber. They were all talking while Aggie cleaned the room. The nurses were watching with a pleased look. Really, all of the people on the Spade crew were neat freaks.

Well, besides Luffy, who throws his clothes around his room, with toys scattered all over the floor. But, that was expected from a four year old. "Hey guys, mind explaining what happened and everybody is talking about?"

Deuce looked uneasy with Sabo, before leading him to the far corner, far from the nurses. Sabo was concerned now. "The entire ship turned into a fairy tale castle. With unicorns and a princess. A princess Luffy was going to 'save'. Literally, the appearance of the ship changed, the ocean disappeared, and apparently it was all of Luffy's favorite foods that appeared in the kitchen.

"We think that Luffy was responsible for it," Deuce said quietly. Sabo looked absolutely bewildered. "Some of the pirates said they saw Luffy riding a unicorn with a cape on."

Sabo's jaw dropped. "Are people upset?" he asked in a hush. Deuce replied that they were more uneasy and confused than angry or upset. "I didn't wake up from that, and Luffy would have had to climb over us to go outside. And in the day light? Luffy would be in pain," Sabo said, thumb on his chin in thought.

"Do you think it was a projection of a dream?" Deuce and Saber both nodded. "How long did it last?"

"Maybe around twenty minutes. I think that Whitebeard and Marco figured it out. After the illusions faded, they went to our room. But, they didn't seem angry, and Whitebeard was even smiling. I don't think they'll hurt Lu for it," Deuce explained. Sabo was worried. What would happen if that happened again, but it was a nightmare? Was Luffy developing abnormal abilities for a vampire? Was it because of what he was?

But, wouldn't only being part vampire make him weaker than full vampires? Marco had a devil fruit, and Sabo or Ace hadn't heard of any of the other pirate vampires having some sort of ability.

"Wait, did they peek in our room?" Sabo asked with a frown. Yes, Ace and Sabo like watching Luffy and the other sleep, but they were family. It was weird if someone other than family watched.

"Probably. They followed a hunch, and most likely found proof," Saber added. He didn't like when Sabo was mad. When he was mad, he was worse than Ace on his cranky days.

Sabo pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "So, basically, you're telling me it's not a big deal?" Saber shrugged and said it depends on how long they watched, really. Sabo was still frowning when he left the room with Deuce and Saber.

The three were going to Luffy and Ace. Saber was going to stay in the room to supervise Luffy, while Ace would talk with Deuce and Sabo about fixing this. Sabo slowly opened the door that, thankfully, wasn't creaky. Not that Luffy was a light sleeper most days.

Sabo approached Ace and gently pat him. Ace swatted at Sabo's hand sleepily before Sabo harshly whispered his name. Ace woke up instantly after that, and saw Sabo gesture to come with him. It worried Ace. Usually, the other brother wouldn't bother him sleeping with Lu. Sleeping with Luffy seemed to keep him asleep longer than if they slept by themselves.

When Saber sat on the bed across from the one pushed together, Sabo left the room and gently closed the door behind him and Ace, while Deuce was waiting in the hall.

"What's wrong?" Ace asked in concern.

"Did you wake up at all before now?" When Ace shook his head, Sabo explained what had happened, with Deuce giving the details about the real-life-dream and the pirates' reactions. Ace was speechless. Luffy enveloped the entire ship into one of his dreams? And the dream matched the story Luffy had enjoyed the most that was read to him the night before.

The three were conversing in the hall quietly, probably looking extremely suspicious with how they kept checking each side of the hall. Izo came into view and walked to them quickly. Luckily, he didn't seem angry or hostile, though the three sailors automatically placed themselves right in front of the door holding the beloved Luffy. Was he in trouble for something he hadn't meant or known to do?

"Relax, boys," Izo said. Ace bristled at being called a "boy". He was a captain, damnit! "I'm just here to talk about what happened. You two were asleep, right? Thought so. Neither of you noticed the room around you warping into Luffy's dreams?" Ace and Sabo looked confused. "Clearly not."

"...Are people angry with Luffy?" Sabo asked darkly, for once seeming dangerous to the commander. Izo quickly told him that no one was mad, and only a handful of the commanders, those who were awake, knew. "How do you know they won't tell everyone else?" Sabo challenged.

Izo chuckled. "You won't find any rumors or private information being leaked by a commander, darling. We're leaders here, we can't be untrustworthy. I'm just curious, and like knowing things before everyone else," the man said honestly, with no shame and a mischievous smile. "So, has it ever happened before?"

Sabo shook his head and answered, "Not that we've ever seen. None of the crew has noticed anything like this happening either." Izo looked surprised. Was it strange to go from it never happening to fooling everyone's five sesnes on the ship into being in a fairy tale setting?

The commander looked at the closed door of the bedroom where Luffy was sleeping, and was asked, "Did anyone get hurt?" Thankfully, Izo said no one had gotten hurt, though it threw off most of the crew. No one knew what had happened and probably wouldn't find out for Luffy's sake. He didn't know what had happened, so the little vampire would be confused as to why everyone was staring at him or talking about something he didn't remember happening.

"Though everyone is curious about what happened, no one will be out for blood if they find out," Izo said, lowering his voice even more than he had been the whole conversation. Sabo and Ace felt relieved at this, and Deuce gave a small sigh, also relieved. "Don't worry about Luffy's safety, really. No one will do anything to hurt any of you. Besides, I'm sure most of us are enjoying being around a child, especially the vampires. It's been a long time since any of us came into contact with a child, let alone one as young as Luffy," Izo explained in a pleasant voice.

Ace frowned. "Don't Grand Line sailors usually look down on bringing children to this sea?" Why would they be happy about having a four year old on a dangerous pirate ship? Surely, some must see Lu as a burden.

Izo nodded, and said, "For most, yes. But you clearly have special circumstances. Besides, there are hundreds of pirates on this ship, more than capable to make sure Luffy, and you two, aren't in danger." Ace seemed offended by his words, though Izo meant it in a kind way.

"We can take care of ourselves perfectly fine," the teen snapped. Izo brought a hand up in a "stop" motion, and patiently said, "I meant, don't you want to stay safe and focused on Luffy, on a ship full of strangers? Would you really want to leave him and go fight off any enemies that attack the ship?"

Ace's anger deflated, knowing Izo had a point. "Everyone can tell easily that Luffy is very important to you and they won't 'bother' him without one of you being present, not that you'll probably ever leave him alone. Well, Thatch may be the exception, since he can't stop gushing about how cute Luffy is," Izo said with humor.

"Thank you, commander," Sabo replied politely. "It is ingrained in us to keep Luffy attended with one of us at all times."

Izo then looked a bit sad. "I can tell you are more uncomfortable with humans being around him than vampires, and that you are both uncomfortable with vampires besides Luffy. I assume it has something to do with how you both grew up, but you can trust the humans, too. It's not like there is anywhere anyone can steal him away out on the sea, with over a thousand people being around to witness something," the commander said. "No need to worry, I promise."

Neither of the brothers or Deuce said anything, and any further speaking didn't happen as there were high pitched squeals and shouts coming from the Spades' bedroom. There were thumps on the door and Ace spun around and opened the door in panic at something happening with Luffy when he wasn't there. Even if Luffy was laughing.

When the door opened, a pile of excited, purple puppies came barreling out of the room, running around the humans' feet. Ace and Sabo looked bewildered as the puppies, which didn't look like any sort of dog breed they'd ever seen, but were clearly puppies, ran passed their feet and down the hall in both directions.

"Puppies!" Luffy shrieked from the bed, laughing hysterically. Sabo and Ace were the ones most dumbfounded, since they hadn't been awake like everyone else had been with Luffy's dream taking over the ship.

Ace carefully stepped through the stream of never ending puppies as he went to Luffy's bed. "Ace look!" Luffy shouted with a toothy grin as the puppies finally stopped coming. Saber looked helpless in the corner. There was nothing he could have done to stop it, so Sabo gave him a smile.

The puppies seemed to be causing a ruckus around the ship as there were shouts of surprise and curse words as the little purple animals explored the hallways. "Did you see, Ace? Did you see the puppies?" Luffy gushed, fully awake now, even though it was still day time.

Though Ace and Sabo were a bit nervous, hoping Luffy wouldn't get in trouble if his creations make a mess, they calmly sat on the bed next to him. "We did see. It was very interesting," Ace replied. It was an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't make Luffy feel bad about it. Like he'd done something very wrong. They were just puppies, not some nightmare monster his child brain conjured up in the moment.

"Am I magic?" Luffy asked in awe.

Sabo shrugged, but had a smile. "Like Ace is fire?" Sabo calmly said, "No, Ace got his fire power from eating a certain fruit. We don't know where you got your magic." When Luffy exclaimed he wanted to make more, Sabo replied, "Why don't we go and collect all of the puppies first?"

Ace knew Sabo didn't want Luffy to create more unknown creatures at the moment, so gathering the puppies was a good distraction for the boy. "We can even make it a contest with our friends," Ace added. He looked pointedly to Saber, and Deuce. "We can go get Zeno and Sparky and Jojo, too."

"Yeah! I'll find the most puppies!" Luffy cheered, throwing off the blanket and dropping off of the double bed. It was still day time, but rapidly growing darker as night approached. The day had passed quickly, surprisingly, even though they were on a stranger's ship with people they didn't know.

"Let's make some teams," Sabo offered. There was no way he or Ace would let Luffy roam the ship unaccompanied.

Luffy's impatience was tangible in the room as quick groups were made, and the other three Spades. Leaving out Aggie 68, would be fetched after Luffy already went exploring. Luffy clung onto Ace to hunt with him, so the two brothers went off in search of puppies, down the direction the puppies had herded through.

When they passed anyone, Luffy would sagely asked if they'd seen any purple puppies. The boy left out the fact that he was responsible for them, and got directions to places that most of the pirates were avoiding.

Ace had collected a blanket from the bedroom and picked up tired and sleepy puppies from the floor and put them in the blanket like a sac. They felt between solid and not, a strange feeling Ace had never felt before. It was incredible.

The two came across some people who were collecting puppies as well, seeming a bit frustrated and confused, and there was a very large bin in the halwlay, full of yipping puppies. Luffy pouted that someone else was winning the competition, but Ace assured him there had been a lot more puppies, so they would still be able to find more.

It was when the two made it to a sort of intersection in one of the main hallways that they were separated. Luffy, with his much better senses than Ace, heard some puppies down one hall, while Ace looked away for just a minute as Lu sped down another hall, following the scratching noises and little whines.

Luffy didn't notice Ace wasn't following, distracted by his hunt for the pups, until Ace was far from him, and Luffy couldn't remember which way he came from. He could sniff out Ace easily, but was distracted again by more sounds of puppies after finding the first targeted ones, and making a pouch out of his shirt to carry the little animals he created. He was laughing and chasing another puppy while those in his shirt squirmed to get out when he ran into Marco.

"Luffy?" Marco asked in shock at seeing the boy without one of his brother's chaperoning. Marco had heard about the mysterious dogs throughout the ship and had speculated Luffy had made them. "Where are your brothers?" he asked patiently, crouching down to the four year old's height.

Luffy seemed to only just notice that he was alone, and his eyes widened. "I lost Ace!" he exclaimed, though he didn't seem too upset as he struggled to keep the puppies in his shirt.

Marco gave him a warm smile, something he rarely wore, and said, "Why don't we go find him? I'm sure he's worried." Luffy nodded, and Marco offered to help hold the puppies after taking off his shirt to use as a sac to help with the tiny child as he struggled to keep the puppies. "Did you make them?" Marco questioned and gestured to the dogs.

"Yeah! We are going on a hunt for them!" Luffy said, right before the puppies all popped away, completely gone. Marco assumed that Luffy's creations must have a time limit. The boy didn't like this, and started crying. Marco crouched down to the crying boy again and kindly said, "Hey, Luffy, it's okay. I'm sure you can make more some time. You made them, right?" Luffy nodded, eyes puffy and wet. "They just had to go away and couldn't stay for forever."

Marco went out on a limb and slowly picked the child vampire up. "Let's go find Ace, huh?" Luffy nodded, still sniffling with a slightly runny nose. When Luffy was still upset, Marco offered to race him as a distraction. Somehow, the boy had gotten quite far away from Ace. Well, he might be heading the wrong way. Marco was easily about to find him by following the scent. Ace had a strange scent, which the vampires assumed was due to his devil fruit.

Devil fruit users smelled distinct, though not necessarily bad.

When Luffy happily agreed to race, Marco set him down and both started running, though Marco stayed a step behind. Luffy was faster than a human child, but nowhere near as fast as a full vampire. When they turned down a hall, Luffy zoomed up to his frantic big brother and jumped onto his back, startling the teen. "Ace!" Luffy shouted in his ear. Ace turned him around and hugged him tightly.

"Luffy, where were you?" Ace demanded, though just kind enough to not make Luffy upset or think Ace was mad at him. "I was worried."

Luffy frowned. "I'm sorry. I heard puppies… but they're gone now…" Luffy mumbled. Ace rubbed his back to stop the tears and turned to see Marco standing there with a smile. "Marco found me and we raced when the puppies went gone!"

"Really? Who won?" Ace asked with a smile. Luffy exclaimed that he won proudly. Ace turned to Marco with a grin and thanked the vampire for bringing Lu back. When Marco grinned back and said it was no problem, he couldn't help but notice the flush that spread across Ace's face with a sudden frown. Marco, of course, didn't say anything about it.

"Are you guys going to come to the galley for Luffy's breakfast?" Marco asked politely, as the sun had set by then. "The puppies are gone," the vampire added. When he saw Ace's face harden, he put up a hand and assured the teen that he was sure that Luffy wouldn't be in trouble and that everyone but the commanders don't know about what caused the incident earlier. Or, _who_ caused it.

"Did you like my puppies?" Luffy asked with a smile. Marco had forgotten over the hundreds of years how clueless young children were. The three were walking down the halls to find Sabo and then go to the galley for food. Luffy was looking at Marco like he was the coolest person ever (besides his brothers).

Marco smiled down at him and replied, "They were a very nice shade of purple."

"Purple is my favorite color," Luffy explained. "And blue. I like blue, too," the boy added. Ace was walking next to Luffy, holding his hand while the three followed Luffy's directions to Sabo's scent, as he wanted to show Marco how "cool" he was.

When they reached Sabo, who was paired with Jojo, they were on their way to the galley. Luffy released Ace's hand and hurried to Sabo. "How many puppies did you catch, Sabo? I only got a couple."

Sabo gripped under Luffy's armpits and tossed him up, catching him in his arms and tickling his stomach mercilessly, earning squeals and giggles. "We caught six before they disappeared. I guess me and Jojo win so far."

Luffy pouted slightly. "It's only 'cause I didn't have anything to put them in!" Luffy exclaimed. "Next time, I'll catch more." No one told him not to do it again. Marco didn't mention anything either. Luffy's puppies had been harmless, though he thought that Ace and Sabo should get on top of this quickly. Try to train Luffy to not come up with anything dangerous or bad. So far, the boy seemed like a very chipper and happy child, but even he must have bad dreams sometimes.

When the five reached the galley, some people were talking about the weird things that had happened that day, but Luffy was too distracted by the yummy smell of food to supply everyone with the information that he'd made the puppies, which he was quite proud of. But, his scattered mind quickly jumped from the leftover happiness from the puppies to the delicious food he was now running to.

Ace ran after Luffy, while Sabo continued to walk with Marco and Jojo before the vampire headed off in the direction to the commander's table, where Izo was telling Whitebeard about what had happened, with a quiet voice that only a vampire could hear close up.

Marco had noticed that Ace was much more clingy to Luffy than Sabo was. Luffy clung to both of them, but Ace seemed to always be touching him in some way. Holding hands, or in his arms. Always the one to follow closer.

"Thatch!" Luffy cheered as he gracefully climbed onto the stool he'd sat at for the last couple of nights. "Can I have breakfast?"

The pirates had caught on to Luffy's schedule words, so the word breakfast for their dinner didn't throw the chef off. The crew had also easily corrected their wording from "blood" to "juice" when in close proximity to Luffy, which wasn't often for anyone, really, but the Spades and a few of the Whitebeard commanders.

Thatch set out a huge meal in front of Luffy, complete with freshly baked bread, soup, orange juice, a dish of meat and some vegetables. Luffy's jaw dropped at all of it and dug into the food. Ace matched the pace, Sabo eating in a more normal way, with Jojo asking Thatch questions about the soup.

The other two groups of puppy-catchers arrived, and sat at the bar as well. Everyone was served the same food, though Luffy got each plate in larger quantity since he seemed to eat the most out of all of them, usually going for thirds or even fourths while Ace had mostly stayed at thirds.

"So, who won the puppy search?" Deuce asked. The winners were Sparky and Zeno, who had caught twelve puppies that had accidentally trapped themselves in the nearest bathroom to the Spades' current room. It turned out Luffy scored the lowest. He and Ace could have collected more if Luffy hadn't wandered off, but oh well.

After Luffy's breakfast, the boy was still hyper and wanted to play games. Saber went to bed after the meal, Aggie 68, who was still holed up in the infirmary learning as much as he could about vampires and their health information, wasn't seen for dinner and Ace assumed he went to eat after he was done with whatever he was doing.

Considering the nine of them were constantly together on their smaller ship, it was different that they were each perfectly fine being separated for awhile. Maybe they each just wanted to talk to some new people. Well, those besides Ace and Sabo. They seemed to be the most anti-social of the members of the small crew. While Zeno and Sparky were hanging out with people who had similar weapons for most of the day, and Aggie was with the medical professionals, Jojo spent time in the kitchen, and Saber was with the navigators learning more about the Grand Line, Ace and Sabo stuck together or with Luffy all day/night.

Deuce spent his time divided with dedicating it to his friends/captains and exploring the ship, but he was still more adventurous than the brothers were. It was clear to everyone on the ship. Sabo was perfectly polite most of the time, but Ace was clearly the most anti-social of the nine. He spent most of his time dedicated to Luffy, and when he wasn't, he was never far from Luffy for long.

He was also very clearly the most uncomfortable around strangers. Many hoped that, in however long they would be on the ship with them, Ace would open up. It was slightly sad seeing someone so young and clearly a good person to be so uncomfortable and withdrawn around anyone he wasn't extremely familiar with. Especially when his crew was so easy to get to know.

The seven of the Spades, excluding Aggie 68 and Saber, played children's games with Luffy out on the deck. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the deck well enough to play duck, duck, goose. It was one of Luffy's favorite games, and he rarely got to play it since, at home, it was usually only him and his brother(s) when he was awake at night.

Now, the others were working hard to spend time with Luffy, and the co-captains could only assume it was this way as they didn't need to do their usual duties to protect the ship during the day. Here, the Whitebeards were used to working both day and night, which made it possible for the members of the small crew to spend more time together.

None of the Whitebeard pirates made any indication they thought that playing duck, duck, goose with a four year old was ridiculous, which the Spades were glad of. No one really bothered them until Haruta came out and asked if Luffy wanted to play freeze tag with some of the crew. Luffy had accepted before Ace or Sabo could decline, and they didn't tell Luffy no, that they didn't trust him not being right by their sides on a big ship because of the guilt they felt. Luffy never got to play games with other people, so they caved and participated with Lu.

The human Spades were thankful that the vampires playing kept the game even and didn't use their much faster speeds. Everyone knew the game was for Luffy, so they kept their speed slow enough for Lu, and therefore the humans.

By the time Luffy was sleepy, he was so tired he had to be carried everywhere. He almost fell asleep at the bar as he ate his dinner, and right after he was finished, Ace scooped him up and brought him to bed. No one was surprised to not see Ace the rest of the day.

The others in the crew ended up sleeping at the same time as Luffy and his brothers. They were all now starting to adopt the same sleep schedule, and Ace and Sabo were glad they weren't upset over it. They both had an idea why, confident that they were enjoying their little vacation from the responsibilities of maintaining the ship and crew.

At around eleven AM, Sabo woke up and left a note for Ace, saying he was going to go talk to Whitebeard about Luffy. He quietly left the room full of sleeping men and Jojo and left to look for the captain, who he knew wasn't going to sleep for the day. Sabo was worried about whether or not Izo and Marco were just being nice and not wanting the brothers to freak out if the crew actually was unhappy with Luffy and his newfound ability.

On his way to the galley, which he'd memorized the route easily, he ran into a couple of the minor pirates in the crew, and asked for directions to the captain. No one asked him why, which he was glad of. It would be frustrating to have 1600 _nosy_ pirates. Sabo was lead to the area of the ship that had most of the recreation rooms. He passed the winery, which he glanced inside if and saw bottles upon bottles of bloodwine. It sounded disgusting, honestly. Sabo wasn't fond of alcohol, and definitely not blood.

Sabo was lead to the door of a large room that had Sabo's jaw drop. It was a massive library. A bunch of plushy chairs were scattered around the circular room that had two stories. Sabo wondered why on earth he hadn't been told about this room. He loved books, he would have been taking Luffy there every night and searching for good books to read.

His attention returned to the task at hand and he walked up to Whitebeard, who was sitting at one of the tables with Marco and a couple of the commanders that the brother's hadn't gotten to know. All were humans besides Marco and the captain. When Marco looked up from his hand, he looked surprised to see Sabo there.

"What's up, Sabo?" Marco asked, pausing the game of poker.

"I wanted to talk to Whitebeard about Luffy," Sabo said vaguely. He didn't know if all of the commanders knew or just Izo and Marco. Apparently, not all of them knew as they were all asked to leave but Marco, who had been one of the first to realize what had happened with the whole dream fiasco.

"What would you like to ask?" Whitebeard asked once Sabo was sat down. He was glad none of the other commanders seemed upset with being sent out. He got zero nasty glares or irritated looks. Sabo had to wonder, again, what kind of pirates these ones were.

Sabo sighed and asked, "Are we still welcome on this ship for the present even while Luffy can't control his new powers?" He waited nervously even though Marco visibly relaxed at the question, like he'd been worrying Sabo would ask about something else.

"You are all still welcome. A few harmless imaginary puppies and a dream are not crimes or worth punishing in the first place. Besides, it keeps things lively, though we would recommend you and Ace try and get on it quickly and start trying to train Luffy," Whitebeard explained lightly. Sabo relaxed and thanked him for being understanding.

"Gurarara, no problem," Whitebeard rumbled. "I remember what a mess it was when Marco first got his powers. Set everything on fire with eternal flames," the captain laughed. Marco seemed like he would have blushed if he could. "Luffy could be very powerful, and we think that guiding him on this ship, while you and your crew don't have to focus on protecting so much or running the ship, would be a great opportunity."

Sabo had to agree, and even though they were on a ship full of strangers, Sabo felt at ease knowing he wasn't one of the strongest in a tiny crew on a small and non-intimidating ship. "Thank you. We'll do what we can to make sure Luffy doesn't accidentally create something bad."

Marco watched Sabo closely for a second, and the teen knew he was going to ask something, so he didn't get up to leave. "Sabo, why is Ace so afraid of vampires and hostile towards humans? You don't need to answer if you don't want to," the vampire added quickly. He clearly didn't want to make Sabo uncomfortable. But, Sabo replied with the truth. Not going into detail, but the truth nonetheless.

"We were raised on a very anti-vampire island. Then, the only full vampire we ever met had ruined everything and caused the death of our mom and almost Luffy. I assume you can know why Ace doesn't like humans around Luffy," Sabo said.

"Because Luffy is a vampire and you were raised in a vampire-hating community," Marco supplied, receiving a nod from Sabo. "That makes a lot of sense now. But, you don't have to worry about any of us, human or vampire, hurting Luffy in any way," the phoenix said emphatically. He didn't want the Spades to be uneasy around them, or even fear them. Even if Ace or Sabo did turn out to be little assholes, they wouldn't ever hurt Luffy.

Marco was sure they wouldn't do anything, as no one had suspected the Spades of anything foul or wrong, and even if they did, it wasn't as if the sailors would be murdered. Even if Sabo and Ace were strong, they were most definitely not as strong as the commanders were. All of the pirates could wipe the floor with them.

Well, actually, if Luffy wanted to, he would probably be the one who could take any of them down. But, he was far from mastering his newfound and very promising ability. Sabo didn't agree with Marco's words, but thanked him for them.

"You are all still strangers. It's natural that we'd feel not completely safe around you. After all, now I know who you are and that your crew is one of the strongest out there," Sabo reasoned. "And it's natural for us to see things as 'us and them'. It's always been like that, and probably will stay that way for awhile. Though, we are all eternally grateful for your helping us," the teen said with a bow.

Marco frowned, wanting to be honest with the kid. "Your ship is in a much tighter bind than previously thought," Marco confessed. "Some of our shipwright brothers checked it out. It will need very professional work done on it. And there's one island in particular that would be best to have it fixed at. A place called 'Water 7'. That's actually where the Moby Dick was built many decades ago.

"It will take a couple months at least to get there," Marco said honestly. Sabo looked shocked and horrified. Luffy and Ace were _not _going to like that. Luffy missed home, and Ace missed the safe space, where no one would or could hurt them there.

Whitebeard and his first mate watched Sabo's array of expressions pass before calm took over. "Thank you for being honest with me. Is there no way we can go back on the ship while you tow it?" Luffy wanted to go home, so they could at least sometimes hang out there, right?

But Marco sadly shook his head. Whitebeard said, "It would be unsafe to be there overnight while it is towed. But, you are very welcome here until the ship is repaired or replaced." Sabo felt his heart crack when he heard the word "replace". Luffy would be devastated if they had to replace the ship for a new one. It was the only home the boy remembered. He didn't remember a thing about their old home before they fled their island and took to the sea. And, it was Ace and Sabo's first safe space that was their own.

The ship didn't have bad memories, only good ones and getting rid of it would be heartbreaking for all of them, but especially Lu. The two vampires across form Sabo could empathize with him and what he must be feeling about possibly not being able to have his home ship repaired. If the Moby Dick was terminal, it would be like losing a part of themselves. It had been their home for decades, and even if the Spades' ship was relatively young compared to the Moby, it was still a home and safe space.

Knowing what little they knew about the brothers' past, that ship was their first haven for safety for Luffy. They said nothing and didn't interrupt Sabo's thoughts.

The two were surprised when Sabo brought his attention outward again and asked, "Why are you letting us stay? I don't get it," Sabo said honestly.

Marco knew Whitebeard wasn't going to be completely honest and make Sabo uncomfortable, so the big vampire said, "I like to help good people in a world where so many are bad. All of your crew is quite likable and easy to get along with. Plus, Luffy is here and I'm sure you've been told that most, especially the vampires on the crew, are enjoying the company of a little one. Even if we don't get to interact with him much, it's still nice to have such a bright star on our ship, for any length of time." What he had said was a truth, but not the total truth.

The captain and Marco had spoken about this earlier that day, Marco wondering why Whitebeard was so okay with letting them stay for a long period of time. He shouldn't have been surprised by the man's answer. It was natural for him to want to recruit new sons when he found somebody he liked. Plus, it wasn't just the three brothers that Whitebeard liked, it was his whole crew. Like Whitebeard felt he did, Ace and Sabo had good eyes for people.

They had managed to collect a very reliable and trustworthy group of people in just two years. Thatch seemed to have a crush on Jojo from the start, Aggie 68 was supposedly a very experienced doctor, and the others were all loyal and charming as well.

Sabo frowned, surprising Whitebeard and Marco. Whitebeard had said something nice. "With all due respect," Sabo began, "I'm very good at sensing lies." Marco and Whitebeard were both surprised with Sabo's expression. He looked suspicious and hostile.

"It wasn't a lie. I left out some things to not make you uncomfortable," Whitebeard replied truthfully. Lying anymore would just make it worse. "So far, we really like you and your crew. You would all make good additions to our family." Sabo did look uncomfortable with this. Whitebeard and his sons were used to adopting people quickly, but the Sabo and his brother clearly had trust issues. It would be impossible to just have them join by asking once. The Whitebeards would need to prove they were trustworthy and good people.

It was true that the Spades all got to spend more time together on this ship, where they could all have the same sleep schedule if they wished, and Ace and Sabo could _both _stay with Luffy while others were responsible for the ship. But, they still were basically strangers. Well, most of them. The only ones Ace agreed that were more trustworthy were Thatch, Marco and maybe Izo. Even though they didn't trust the pirates to be alone with Luffy, they trusted those three to not betray the Spades.

The small crew had barely interacted with many of the ship's occupants, since there were hundreds of them. Ace and Sabo wondered how on earth everyone remembered each others names on a ship so damn big with such a massive crew.

Sabo didn't know how to reply to Whitebeard's honest words, so he awkwardly excused himself from the room and walked back to the Spades' sleeping quarters. A few of the crew members were asleep, snoring quietly while Luffy and Ace slept together, Luffy curled up against Ace's stomach, dwarfed by the tall teen with his tiny body, curled up in a little ball the size of a dog.

"Family, huh?" Sabo whispered quietly before laying down on the other side of Lu. He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.


	9. The Tragic Past

**Samster7421: Yes, yes he is.**

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**Sorry! I was supposed to update this 2 days ago but it somehow slipped my mind. Got back from my family's home on the train last night and only got 4 hours of sleep. :( Happy holidays everyone, and I'm here to reward you with some ****tear-jerking**** stuff. We finally learn the history of Ace, Luffy and Sabo's family.**

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Ace, Sabo and Luffy's mother had gotten pregnant with Ace and Sabo when she was eighteen, with her partner who she thought was the love of her life. But, he showed his true colors once the woman, Makino, found out she was pregnant. He didn't want any children, and left her, sailing to another island.

Makino had been devastated, as her family deserted her as well, as she had gotten pregnant out of wedlock. But, once Ace and Sabo were born, twins, in her own home by some midwives who left her not long after she gave birth, she didn't hate her life anymore. She had two sweet angels to raise, even if it was by herself and living in a tiny home with one bedroom that she gave to the boys to share, while she slept on the couch in the living room.

Ace and Sabo were adored, the best thing to happen to Makino. She raised them alone, and once they were both eight, they started to venture out of the home and city into the woods to hunt for food, mostly produce and plants to eat until they started to hunt for animals as well.

The good thing about their little family of three being outsiders was the fact that they were very rarely welcome in the town besides Makino's job at the flower shop, and therefore they weren't expected to go to the sermon who preached about the dangers and horrific existence of vampires. Even though Ace and Sabo never attended the lectures, just living in that village made them afraid of vampires. They were unnatural abominations.

The whole island was devoid of any vampires, for once any came, which was rare, they were killed quickly by the self-proclaimed vampire hunters, whose job it was to protect the village from the devils.

Ace and Sabo had never met any vampires before, so it wasn't as if they knew by experience that not all of them were bad.

One day, a couple months after the teens' fourteen birthday, they went home to see they had a guest in their tiny house. They almost never had anyone over. The teens both didn't have any friends. Each other's company was more than enough. The moment Ace and Sabo laid eyes on the man, they didn't like him much.

"Ace, Sabo, this is Dragon, your father," Makino had said in a happy voice. The man seemed nice enough, though the two teens knew he deserted their mother after he got her pregnant. Despite his kind demeanor, the teens didn't like or forgive him for abandoning their mother to raise them all by herself, without even the help of her family, who had deserted her as well.

But, she looked so happy that they couldn't bring themselves to remind her that he left her at such a hard time. Ace glowered at the man, while Sabo was as polite as he could be.

"Hi, boys. I'm really sorry about leaving you all when you should have had a father figure," Dragon had said sincerely. Or at least, sounded sincere. Ace could tell there was something off about him, and told the brother the moment they were alone in their bedroom.

"I don't like him, Sabo," Ace had said in a hard voice. Sabo agreed, not liking the fact he was going to stay the night. Makino had made it clear that the one bedroom was for the teens, and that Dragon would need to sleep on the floor or the lounge chair, while she took the futon. Their mother had never been the most assertive, so Ace and Sabo had been proud that she had been assertive and laid down the rules.

When Sabo said, "But, mom seems happy. Let's just wait and see." Ace glowered, but their mom did seem really happy, and he didn't want to ruin it with his suspicion, even though he felt he was right and that this Dragon was a bad guy, even if he was their "father". What kind of dad just ditches when he finds out he will have kids?

The next following days, Makino was overjoyed. Ace and Sabo knew she loved them with all her heart, but maybe they weren't enough anymore. That's what kept them from telling her that he seemed off and that they didn't like him. Both teenagers knew that if they told her that, she would kick him out. Probably. Hopefully.

Dragon stayed at the home with Makino when her sons went out to hunt or explore the forest near their little home. Whenever they went back home, Makino was happy, enjoying cooking them all good meals after Ace and Sabo gathered the ingredients for her food. Dragon continued to try and talk to them, though only when he felt like it. Sometimes, he'd completely ignore them, but they said nothing of it. It wasn't as if they wanted to spend "quality time" with him.

The longer Dragon was there, the more they disliked him. After coming home after a long day of hunting and exploring further into the forest, the teens came home to a subdued mother, Dragon gone. She didn't tell them what was wrong or where he went for a few days, but the teens were glad he was gone. Though they didn't like their mom being sad.

However, a few days after Dragon's disappearance, Makino was bright and happy. She kept touching her stomach, and Sabo had a feeling he knew what had happened. Ace was clueless, just glad Dragon was gone. Hopefully for good this time. So, the freckled son was the only one to be surprised when Makino took them to the couch one day, all drinking hot chocolate, and told them the good news.

"Ace, Sabo, how would you feel about having a baby brother or sister?" she questioned. It took a moment for it to click for Ace, who was shocked. But, the moment it clicked, he grinned widely. He realized at that moment that having a little brother or sister would be the best thing to ever happen! Sabo was happy, too, but not nearly as ecstatic as Ace. Sabo, being the more logical one, knew that it would put a strain on their financial position, but a little one would be fun. Something new.

"I want a little brother," Ace said so often, going up to Makino's growing belly a lot and telling the baby that he'd be a good big brother, and would always protect him or her. Hopefully a him. Makino was ecstatic that her sons were so excited, even though they were a bit peeved that Makino had gotten pregnant by someone who ditched her. But, Ace and Sabo would take care of their mother. They didn't need a father. Especially one like Dragon.

"I've come up with some names I want to name him or her," Makino said at dinner one day. "If it's a boy, I want Luffy. If it's a girl, I want Lucilia. What do you think?" she asked with a soft smile. Ace liked the names, grinning at them. Sabo was smiling too, and like the names as well.

Sabo asked, "Where did you come up with those names?" curiously.

"A story book I found at the bookstore that I will read to him or her once he's born. The hero of the story's name is Luffy. He'll grow up to be strong, like you two are. My knights in white," the mother said, caressing her belly, which was protruding significantly now. Seven months along. Makino was so grateful to have Ace and Sabo, who helped take care of her when she needed it.

Sabo had even taken up cooking, while Ace did the cleaning and laundry. They wanted Makino as comfortable as possible. They wanted a healthy little brother or sister. By halfway through the seventh month, Makino started calling the baby a boy. She just had a feeling it was a Luffy inside, and not a Lucilia. And she was perfectly happy having another boy. She also knew Ace and Sabo would rather have a baby brother.

Luffy was a very active baby in the womb, and moved around a lot. Sometimes it was uncomfortable when he would kick a lot, but it just excited Makino to have such an energetic baby. He also reacted a lot to music and Makino's voice. She loved Luffy to death already and he wasn't even there yet.

Ace and Sabo also loved Luffy, though they weren't as connected to him as their mother was. They vowed to do their best to be the best big brothers as possible.

Then, it all fell apart.

-x-

Makino wasn't feeling well anymore, and being near the end of her last trimester was uncomfortable often. Luffy was big now, and moved around a lot more than he had been, like he just couldn't wait to get out. Makino did go to the doctor, and things were progressing completely normally, but she was looking more and more forward to the pregnancy being over, though she was less uncomfortable than she had been when carrying two babies fourteen years ago.

Usually, one of the brothers would stay with her while the other went to hunt and get food, but that night, both teens went, as Makino was napping and told them she would be fine. She didn't know that Ace and Sabo weren't both hunting. Ace was hunting while Sabo went into town to sell some crocodile skin and buy his mom a present to make her happy. It was a onesie he'd seen a while ago but hadn't had the money.

The onesy was dark blue and was decorated with stars. That would be what they put Luffy in first. He also ended up buying a baby hat that had matching stars on it. Makino had said that they would buy most of the baby supplies they could afford when she was closer to her due date. They didn't have enough money for things like a crib, so Makino would be sharing Ace's bed with the baby while Sabo and Ace would share Sabo's. They would all be in one room, no matter if it became cramped, so the teens could help if something went wrong.

They were going to share the task of changing Luffy's diapers, and when he was old enough, would feed him when he was hungry and didn't need Makino's breast milk.

Ace got home first that night, carrying a boar and a large bag of fruit and vegetables he'd stolen from one of the farmer's fields in the dark. He dropped everything though, when he heard screaming coming from the inside of the house, heard through the window. Ace assumed, panicking, that his mom had gone into labor early, and rushed inside. But, it was so much worse.

"No! Get off me!" Makino screamed as she was being held down by the wrists on the couch. There was the man who had deserted them, once again, when he learned Makino had become pregnant. Only now, the man seemed different.

Ace and Sabo had never seen a real vampire, so it took a moment for Ace to figure out why he was different. Then, he sprung into action. "Get off of her!" Ace screamed as he pulled at Dragon's clothes. But, he was super strong now and just kicked Ace across the room with one leg as he bit down on Makino's neck, who was still yelling at the vampire to get off.

They had apparently been talking about something while Ace wasn't present. "Makino, stop! Being a vampire is awesome!" Dragon bragged. But Makino didn't want to be a vampire.

"No! It'll hurt my baby! MY Luffy!" she shouted. She cared more about the health of her baby than turning into a vampire, which she didn't want. Dragon scoffed as he dribbled his own blood in Makino's mouth, her jaws being held open by strong, cool hands.

"You won't give a shit about that baby after you're turned," Dragon said harshly, mocking her. Ace grabbed a nearby lamp and smashed it across the vampire's head. It did nothing, and Ace was thrown back into the glass coffee table. Some glass scraped his shoulders, but it wasn't too bad.

"No! I will always love my babies! Ace!" she cried, seeing Ace fly into the glass table. It was then that Sabo arrived, dropping everything in the open doorway and running forward to Ace, helping him up. Sabo was terrified, while Ace did his best to get Dragon off of his beloved mom. The blonde brother was frozen in fear. Makino stopped struggling as her energy left from the act of being turned. They still had time, it took half an hour to fully turn. That's what Ace told himself as he grabbed a broom, and snapped the pole in half, shoving the sharp wooden object into Dragon's back, plunging it into his heart from behind.

Blood sprayed across Makino's front and face. Dragon was dead almost instantly, and Ace grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw his dead body to the ground. His eyes were dark red, and his slightly open mouth showed fangs.

Sabo finally unfroze and ran towards his mother, who was very pale and dazed on the couch before she seemed to wake up and cry out. She felt it when something was wrong with her baby. "No, Luffy!" she cried. Ace and Sabo looked horrified at Makino's stomach. Did Luffy die?

But then Makino screamed in pain as her stomach cramped painfully, and she knew that she was going into labor. There were no midwives there, and there was no time to get a doctor, let alone hide the vampire's body so the small family wouldn't be killed for even being near a vampire. Especially now that Makino was in the slow process of turning.

She was horrified by it, but there was no other choice than to have Ace and Sabo try to save the baby, who was coming even when it wasn't his time yet. Makino's greatest fear at the moment was her baby not surviving. Or, even worse, her baby being delivered alive, and her killing it. Was Dragon right? She wouldn't care about her precious children anymore? She'd rather die than kill them.

They all knew that newborn vampires were supposed to only care about blood. Makino would end up killing her children. She'd rather die. "Ace, Sabo, Luffy is coming!" Makino cried out, screaming at the pain. "You have to deliver him!"

Ace nodded immediately. No matter how uncomfortable it would be to deliver his mother's baby, Luffy was their baby brother. Ace would save him, and Sabo would too. Sabo kicked everything around the couch away as Ace bravely got ready to deliver the baby. This was to save Luffy. He had to do it.

The teens had read a lot about babies with Makino, and had been interested in how the birthing process worked, so he and Sabo had both read a lot about it. Having done that was going to save Luffy.

Makino screamed during the birth, crying in pain and despair. She knew she wanted to die before she hurt her children. She could feel her body changing, felt colder and colder as the minutes passed. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Luffy to come out, but he wasn't crying when Ace finally held him and cut the umbilical cord with a knife Sabo had disinfected.

Luffy was so small, and still. He was breathing, but wasn't awake or crying. Ace didn't shake the infant, just gently smacked his bottom until he started crying. "Hi, Luffy," Ace cooed and looked up to Makino, who was so pale and eyes turning a lighter, redder brown.

What broke Ace and Sabo's heart was that Makino refused to see Luffy. She told Ace to keep Luffy out of her sight, sobbing. Luffy's high pitched crying accompanied her own.

"Ace, Sabo, k-kill me," she begged, making the two teens freeze. "Please, don't make me turn, don't let me kill you, or Luffy!" she cried, trying to ignore the sounds of her live, newborn baby she'd never get to hold, or kiss.

"No, mom, we can't!" Sabo shouted. The front door was open, but luckily, the small family lived quite a ways away from anyone else, or someone would have come to investigate the screaming.

"Don't let me kill my children!" Makino sobbed. Ace held the baby securely to his chest, who was crying, still wet with fluids from the birth. He watched his mother sob with a devastated expression. "_Please!" _

Ace walked forward on shaking legs and handed the baby to Sabo, who looked at Ace in disbelief. "Ace, no," Sabo pleaded, recognizing the determination in his eyes, no matter how haunted he looked.

Ace picked up the end of the broom that wasn't embedded in Dragon's corpse and stood next to Makino, tears down his face. "I love you three. So much," she whispered. "Take care of Luffy."

"I promise we will," Ace whispered back, before his shaking hands stabbed his mother in the heart with the wooden stick. Makino died, looking once at her crying baby with a soft smile, before stilling forever.

Sabo sobbed in the background, holding Luffy's close while the baby continued to cry. Ace couldn't hear anything but Luffy's cries. "Sabo, go clean Luffy off," Ace mumbled before he put a blanket over Makino, who wasn't bleeding much, as most of the blood had been sucked from her body. Both the blood that had coated Luffy and his mother's covered Ace's hands.

Sabo took the excuse and need and hurried to the bathroom, filling the tub quickly with warm water to wash the baby off. He went pale when Luffy slowly opened his eyes after entering the nice, warm water. They were red. But he didn't care. Luffy was his brother, their mother's last wish was to raise and protect him. And they would do that. Luffy was the last good thing to come from their beloved mother.

Ace felt empty as he dragged the vampire's body out of the house and into the woods far enough that no one would find it. He'd killed his mother. She had begged for it, but he had killed her. But, he would dedicate his life to raising his brother, his mother's last wish besides for death.

When he returned to the house, Sabo was rocking the baby in the bedroom, who was sleeping. They had no formula for him, and Makino wasn't there to feed him. They'd need to go buy formula. That was what needed first. But, Ace couldn't go into town covered in blood, so he walked lifelessly to Sabo and told him to go into town and get formula.

Sabo seemed afraid to tell Ace something, and kept Luffy out of his view. It hurt Ace, made him think that his brother didn't trust him after what he'd done, but Ace kept that thought to himself before he found out what the problem was.

Ace walked around the bed and saw what Sabo was trying to hide. Luffy's red eyes that had blinked open from the new voice in the room. But, it didn't bother Ace. Luffy was Luffy. Ace switched with Sabo, who wasn't crying anymore, just looked empty, and took the baby into his arms. Sabo had already dressed him in the star onesie and little beanie, a makeshift diaper out of cloth under his clothing. Luffy was moving his arms around before he stuck a tiny fist into his mouth and watched Ace with wide eyes.

Sabo hurried out of the house, leaving through the door in the kitchen and not the front, to see their mother still there, covered in a blanket or not. Sabo couldn't believe Ace had killed her. But, he had to remind himself that he did it for their mom's and Luffy's sake. While Sabo just stood there, frozen. He was weak, so much weaker than Ace.

Sabo looked sickly, but wasn't covered in blood after changing his shirt. He had a frozen face on as he bought formula from the store. He ignored the questions from the clerk who owned the shop and ran back home.

When he entered the house, through the kitchen door again, he heard Ace cooing soft words to the baby. "We'll take good care of you. Promise, we'll never leave you alone," he said softly. Sabo knocked on the door gently.

"I got the formula," Sabo said quietly. Ace just quietly said, "Okay," and carried the baby to Sabo. He had a glass baby bottle that they had already had from Ace and Sabo's time and tried to feed Luffy with it, but he spit out the formula and started crying. Ace and Sabo tried to not let their panic show.

"C'mon, Luffy, you have to drink," Ace said, rocking the baby to stop the crying, and trying a second time with the formula, but it went as well as the first, Luffy turning his head away. He clearly didn't like the taste of it. "What do we do?" Ace asked Sabo desperately. It wasn't as if Luffy had teeth he could chew food with.

Then it clicked for Sabo. "Ace, he has red eyes. Do you think he needs blood?" he asked in worry. Luffy could get sick if they were wrong and he didn't need blood. But, babies were supposed to drink after birth. The brothers both knew that.

"Where can we get any blood? Everyone hates vampires here," Ace said, making sure to keep looking happy at the baby to not upset him. He already seemed a bit grumpy from the gross tasting formula he was given. But, when Ace rubbed his tummy through the soft clothing, Luffy's eyes grew droopy. Apparently this action soothed him and he fell asleep in Ace's arms.

Sabo smiled sadly at the baby. Their mom should have been the first to hold Luffy and put him to sleep. "We can steal from the hospital," Sabo offered. Ace nodded and laid Luffy down on the bed on his back. The baby stayed asleep, and Ace told Sabo to stay with him while he left.

Ace washed off his arms and changed his clothes before sneaking off and to the hospital, which was closed as it was after midnight. He made sure to bring a paper clip and walked around the village, in the edge of the forest, and behind the hospital, which was near the shore with no houses behind it.

The teen used his strong and flexible body to climb up the side of the hospital and open one of the second story windows and hurried inside, looking for the blood bank he knew had to be somewhere.

Luckily, he found it easily, and grabbed seven bags of blood, and hurried back out the same window so no one noticed anything amiss. While he was gone, Sabo stayed with Luffy, crying softly into his hands. Their mom was dead, and now they had a newborn vampire baby to take care of.

-x-

After Sabo fell asleep with Luffy on the bed, Ace cleaned up the living room and took Makino's body out, carrying it easily. He knew that Sabo wouldn't want to see her buried. He just knew that, so he did it himself. Dug the hole with a shovel out in the woods, in a pretty area with lots of flowers. Far from the vampire. He felt heartless as he buried Makino, as no tears came.

He put a single, large rock over the head of the grave. He'd come back to write on it later. He knew that they would probably have to start staying awake at night and asleep during the day for Luffy's sake. They had fed him the blood, which he accepted easily, and then he fell back to sleep. The sun might hurt him, and neither wanted to risk that, so they would now become nocturnal. Everything was dedicated to the little angel now. Vampire or not, Luffy was a miracle baby to survive what had happened. It sure hadn't taken long for him to be affected by the turning, though.

It would be stressful now, to try and hide what had happened. Where Makino had gone and why the two teens never left the house anymore, besides during the night.

Luffy slept through the whole day, on his back on the bed Makino was going to share with him. But, now, Sabo and Ace had pushed their beds together and both slept on either side of Luffy so they could wake up during the night for him. They had usually stayed up late into the night. They didn't know what would be normal with Luffy and what wouldn't. They knew much about human babies, but Luffy wasn't. At least, not fully.

But, that didn't matter to his big brothers. They loved Luffy regardless. It wasn't his fault that this happened to him. He was the ultimate victim, unable to do anything to stop or get away before it had affected him.

Ace and Sabo suppressed their grief by taking care of Luffy. They convinced themselves he'd be upset if they showed that they were. They wanted to keep Luffy happy. No matter what.

-x-

Until the baby was a couple months old, he slept most of the time, even during the night, and Ace and Sabo took turns hunting and staying with Luffy. Even if the baby drank blood, the two teens still needed to eat themselves. Luffy was very sensitive to the amount of blood he consumed. They found out early that too much blood would upset his stomach, so they settled for only a few bottles of it a week. Other than that, Luffy didn't need to eat or drink, and was perfectly fine with only a few feedings a week.

Sabo noticed early that Ace wanted to be with Luffy at almost all times, even when the baby wasn't doing anything and just sleeping. Ace would lay on the bed next to him and read, or draw. The teens didn't talk about what had happened with their mother, as they didn't want to acknowledge that it happened in the first place. They bottled up their feelings as best as they could, and tried not to even think about what happened. Sabo had visited their mother's grave, only a couple of times, while Ace didn't at all.

The blonde brother knew that Ace felt guilty for what he did, but Sabo knew it had been the right thing, no matter how often he had nightmares and flashbacks to the ordeal. He didn't tell Ace about them, though. He didn't need to feel any more guilt. That he gave his brother nightmares for what he'd done.

But, it wasn't his fault it had happened. It was both of them. They weren't there when their mom needed them. That feeling would always haunt them.

-x-

Taking care of Luffy had been easier for the first few months, where all he did was sleep, drink and soil his cloth diapers. However, he was quite the trouble maker once he started to crawl, earlier than a normal baby would. He made a huge mess wherever he went, even pulled down a lamp on the table. The sound had made him cry, as it was sharp and sudden, but Ace and Sabo never got mad at him.

When the baby had started wanting to try out snacks that Ace and Sabo had, he made messes constantly. The two brothers ended up taping his plastic bowls to the table for him to eat so he didn't throw the whole bowl of flakes onto the ground.

The two really already knew he'd be very active, just by how he was in the womb, kicking around and constantly moving. The brothers had taught the toddler to walk in that tiny house, played with him, taught him his first couple words which would only turn to sentences right before they left the island.

Right after Luffy's second birthday, everything fell to pieces, again. Luffy had walked to the sliding glass window once, and pulled on the curtains, dropping them to the ground with a swish noise that wasn't too loud or scary. It was night time, and they always kept the curtains and blinds closed at night so there was no risk of Luffy being seen. He'd only been out of the house once, to visit his mother's grave as an infant with Sabo. Otherwise, he stayed inside all of the time, his big brothers paranoid about him being seen.

So, his little body was visible through the glass door as he looked at the dark forest outside of their home, the yard and trees beyond illuminated by the indoor lights. Ace had been in the kitchen cooking Luffy some oatmeal for his breakfast, as by then they had developed the two meals a night schedule, and hadn't noticed the curtains were dropped.

It was only terrible timing that a couple of kids were exploring the forest and saw the two year old child with red eyes and tiny pointed canines as he looked outside and at the other people in awe.

"Ace! Ace, luk!" Luffy had cried from the living room and pointed at the people outside. Ace dropped the plastic bowl in horror and immediately turned off all of the lights and scooped the boy up to take into the bedroom.

But, by then it was too late and word spread like wildfire that there was a child vampire in the village. If Ace and Sabo hadn't acted immediately, there was no doubt they would have all been killed. The moment Ace told Sabo about what had happened, the two sixteen year olds packed up everything worth taking with them and fled to the docks on the other side of the island before stealing a fishing boat and sailing off. It was incredibly lucky Sabo had always been fascinated with boats so he knew what to do.

Luffy saw the whole thing as an adventure, and was happy enough by having his brothers and special toys. So, that's when they left the island and their mother's grave. But, they knew if there was an afterlife, she'd be proud they fled and protected their little angel.

After that, the two decided they needed a crew, and found Deuce first, on the second island they'd landed on. Then, one by one, their little crew came together and became their second family.


	10. The Feelings of Hope

**myzmsandraa99: Ace will always love Luffy. 3 **

**Samster7241: I hope I didn't lose you with that chapter!**

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**I hope that dark previous chapter didn't make anyone stop reading! I had to add some angst, it wouldn't be a story by me if it didn't have a bad dream and a dash of angst. But now we know the history of Luffy's birth. Been going through some hard times right now, so your reviews always mean a lot to me, especially now. Enjoy~**

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Sabo woke from the flashback dream when the room suddenly grew extremely cold. He opened his eyes slowly to see the room was full of snow, drifting from the ceiling and onto the white floor. Luffy didn't seem bothered, and Ace didn't either as it was impossible for him to get cold. But, the rest of the Spades who had filtered in felt it and a couple woke up. Sabo shivered, but looked at the room in awe. He reached down from the bed and into the snow that should not be there. It was cold and wet and solid, making sabo incredulous that it was an illusion. A dream, as Luffy was still asleep.

Thankfully, the dream was short, and soon the snow disappeared, taking the chill with it. Sabo shared eye contact with Jojo and Aggie 68, who just shrugged it off and went back to bed. Sabo decided he'd stay up longer and see if anymore dreams happened. By the time the next one hit, he was the only one awake.

The second was much more pleasant, even though the snow had been pretty. The room was once again transformed, with an illusion of Luffy and Ace hunting for the puppies, with Marco then appearing, only he looked different in Luffy's dream. He was taller and the blue fire wings were coming out of his back instead of enveloping his arms. He picked Lu up and tossed him in the air, with the real Luffy making a little giggle in his sleep. Puppies ran around happily, playing with Ace and pawing at Marco's legs to get to Lu.

It looked like Luffy had taken a liking to Marco. And knowing Luffy like he did, Sabo knew that Luffy would everything to try and impress Marco. When Jojo had come, even though Luffy had been three, the boy had gotten into the fridge a few times and insisted to whoever was awake with him that he'd cook Jojo a yummy meal for once. And when he was praised by the chef, Luffy was extremely happy and pleased with himself, even though it always ended up being Ace or Sabo who cooked the meal for their much-appreciated chef.

Sabo thought silently about what Whitebeard had said earlier. How would the pirates feel if they knew what had happened to their mother? Would they shun Ace for what he'd done, both to their mom and the vampire? Well, they would never learn. It wasn't as if Ace or Sabo would tell them about it, as they were the only ones who knew about the whole ordeal.

But… why now? They had only come onto the ship less than a week ago, and the captain thought he knew all of them enough by then to want to recruit them? Sabo wished that he and Ace were able to trust that easily. But no, after hiding Luffy away inside for two years, and having their mom betrayed twice by the same man even _before _he attempted to forcibly change her, trusting wasn't easy unless you gave off an extremely good impression, like Deuce had.

Sabo eventually fell back asleep after he was sure no more dreams would occur. Luffy's powers sure were fascinating. Sabo would do what Whitebeard suggested, as it was a good idea to get on top of this quickly before something bad might happen. Luffy had an amazing imagination, but that didn't mean it was only limited to good things. Everyone had their share of nightmares. Ace and Sabo knew that especially. Luffy rarely had bad dreams, which the brothers were very grateful for.

Luffy was first of the brothers to wake up that night, and looked to the side to see Ace drooling onto his pillow and Sabo laying on his back with his mouth wide open and breathing loudly. Luffy shuffled to the side and climbed up onto Sabo's chest and laid down. Sabo woke up, but didn't give it away. But, when Sabo suddenly moved his hands and tickled them ruthlessly up and down Luffy's back, the boy erupted into giggles, waking Ace and the other two Spades in the room.

Waking to Luffy's laughter wasn't unpleasant, so Sabo didn't feel too bad about it. "Sto-o-op!" Luffy squealed before Sabo gave mercy and stopped ticking the child. "Sabo, guess what? I had a fun dream," Luffy said cheerfully. Ace had sat up beside him and yawned. Zeno and Saber were the other two who were now awake in the room. It was dark outside by then, which was why Luffy had woken up when he did.

"Let me guess… Were you having fun in the snow?" Sabo questioned. This would prove whether what he'd seen really was Luffy's dreams. Luffy looked shocked, and exclaimed, "How did you know?!"

Sabo chuckled and pinned the boy to the bed with tickles to his tummy. "I'm psychic," was Sabo's reply. Luffy, of course, believed him fully, as he didn't grasp the concept of lies, and was amazed.

"Like magic?" the boy wondered. Were all of the brothers magic? Ace already had superpowers, and Luffy could do cool things, too, now. Not that he knew the extend of said power.

"Nah, I'm not magic. Only you and Ace had super cool powers," Sabo replied with a grin. "I know what you were dreaming about because I could see it," the teen explained patiently. Luffy cocked his head to the side, not understanding what Sabo meant. "Well, when you were dreaming, the room turned into your dreams, too. So, the room was full of snow. Then, you dreamed of playing with Marco and Ace."

Ace listened in awe, slightly jealous that he was now the only one who hadn't witnessed Luffy's dream power. But Luffy moved on quickly from this amazing fact and began to go into his dreams deeper. Sabo had seen it, but hearing about what Luffy felt when it was happening was fascinating.

Right when Luffy was about to start talking about the bird-man, his tummy rumbled, followed by Ace's stomach roaring in agreement. It was meal time. Ace got up and walked to their dresser that was full of clothes collected from the Spades' ship. Most of Luffy's outfits were pyjama-like. Comfortable and soft for wearing around the ship, in an environment that would not usually be dirty or dangerous.

Ace and Sabo changed their clothes as well, changing into day clothes that they didn't sleep in. The more they stayed on this ship, the closer their internal clock got to Luffy's. They were both enjoying being able to spend time all together, something that had been rare ever since they set sail, and even before that one of the brothers would always be sleeping with Lu while the other went to hunt or do something else important.

The brothers and the two Spades in the room left and headed to the galley for food. It was a good feeling knowing that their crew liked them enough to share their sleep schedule just so they could all be awake at the same time. Ace and Sabo would have understood if they wanted to continue with a normal schedule, but felt warm inside that, even if they didn't hang out all the time, they shared their time with the three brothers.

On their way to the galley, Ace and Sabo each had one of Luffy's hands and swung him back and forth. Being so tiny allowed them to do this easily. Luffy gleefully giggled, attracting attention from those they walked past. Luffy cheerfully said hello to each pirate they passed. Ace and Sabo wished they could be this comfortable around others than their crew, but that just wasn't happening for now. Or maybe ever.

Sabo had decided not to tell Ace about Whitebeard's words. The fire-teen might get angry at the boldness of them. That they didn't need a new family, they'd already had two. Two was more than enough. He also hadn't told him about the state of the ship yet, as Luffy was with them and he didn't want Lu to hear about his home possibly being unfixable. Ace wouldn't like it, but he was co-captain, so he deserved to know. Sabo would tell him when Luffy was distracted.

Thatch, for once, wasn't in the kitchen. It appeared he'd gone to bed early that night, and instead of him his sou-chefs had made and served dinner. The food was still warm, and the three brothers and two Spades all dug in. it was as good as Thatch's food, though not as well presented. Thatch seemed to like decorating dishes, while these ones were just normal.

Ace and Sabo looked to the side more and saw Jojo on the far side of the kitchen, making Luffy's blood-candies. Ace pointed this out to the boy, who grinned excitedly about eating his yummy candies. It had been awhile since he'd had any. Jojo was no doubt making a lot of them, as Luffy would consume them quickly.

The brothers didn't monitor Luffy's intake of the candy, as most of it was blood, with only enough sugar to caramelize it. It would take awhile for them to be finished, so Luffy would most likely get to have them tomorrow night. The boy wanted them now, but for a four year old, he was good at not pestering things to go faster, though he did ask many times whether something was ready or not, or how close they were to a new island.

Marco was awake, and when he entered the galley, hands in his pockets and walking leisurely, Luffy suddenly dropped off of his bar stool and ran over to the man. Marco smiled kindly when he came up to him, Ace and Sabo following behind, Ace much faster than Sabo, who seemed more relaxed about Luffy being close to Marco.

"What's up, Luffy?" Marco questioned as he crouched in front of the youngest.

"You're a bird, right?" Marco didn't correct him, and nodded in affirmation. "Can you fly me?" the boy asked, bouncing on his toes. Marco had no problem with it; he would never drop the boy. But, it was best to ask Luffy's guardians for permission.

Marco ruffled Luffy's hair, and said, "Why don't you ask your brothers first?" Luffy turned around and looked at his brothers with wide eyes.

"Ace, Sabo, can I fly?" he begged. Everyone watching could tell that Ace would do anything for Luffy. Sabo would be the most likely to say no. If it wasn't Luffy asking, no one had any doubt that he would decline. Ace looked to Sabo, who nodded. Ace seemed to share a silent conversation with Sabo in just a few seconds, and turned back to Luffy.

"You can, but you have to do everything Marco tells you to or not to do, okay?"

"Kay!"

"We have to go outside, first. There's not enough room in here and people are still eating," Marco explained. Luffy chirped an agreement and went running before Marco and his brothers, following the scent of outside and zooming down the halls. Ace and Sabo had to all out sprint to keep up with the tiny vampire. Marco chuckled and shared a look with the captain before following the trio of brothers out on deck.

Ace was clearly uncomfortable when Marco told Lu to hold onto his neck and rest on his back. Marco turned to look at Ace and gave him a genuine smile. "Don't worry. I won't let Luffy get hurt." Marco didn't miss the flaming cheeks and pursed lips. Like the first time it happened, Marco didn't comment.

Unlike Luffy's dream, Marco's arms turned into wings, and unlike Luffy's portrayal that they came from his back. Marco very slowly raised both of them up into the air, maybe ten feet up, so it wasn't too high and the vampire didn't want to make Ace and Sabo uneasy.

"Higher!" Luffy squealed. Marco looked down at Sabo, who minutely nodded his head in permission. Ace didn't want Luffy up there in the first place, but the boy wanted to, and it didn't look like Marco would drop him. Plus, he and Sabo stood directly under the phoenix and his passenger so, in the off chance Luffy decided to jump, one of them would catch him.

Marco rose himself and Luffy up another six feet before slowly flying forward and in little, slow circles around the deck. This was fine for Luffy, and he was having a great time. Some of the pirates out on deck watching the blazing bird and laughing child with small smiles. None of them knew Marco was good with children, as you don't find many on the sea in the Grand Line and especially in the New World.

When Marco lowered them back to the ground, Luffy hopped off and ran to Ace and Sabo, asking if they saw him flying, even though they'd been watching raptly the whole time. Ace picked up Luffy under his armpits and tossed him up so he was sitting on Ace's left bicep.

"We both saw you, Lu. Was it fun?" Ace replied. Luffy nodded his head vehemently.

"I'm gonna learn to fly, too!" Luffy said in a determined voice. Sabo suddenly looked worried. They would need to watch Luffy very closely. If he tried to form wings, he could get injured, and Ace and Sabo vowed to never let that happen. To protect him at all times, even from himself. His new powers seemed limitless so far, but the puppies had disappeared after a certain amount of time. If he was midair, and the wings suddenly left, Lu would fall, and they were on a ship with a wooden floor and deck. Not soft grass or carpet to weaken the blow.

The other pirates who didn't know about Luffy's powers looked confused with Luffy's words, before just taking it as a childish statement by an excited four year old. However, it would prove later that Luffy was not just making a childest statement.

Luffy sat in the bedroom with Ace and Sabo, who were the only ones in the room as they tried to regulate Luffy's "training". Really, it was just the boy creating things happily. He wasn't very good at it. Most of what he created was impractical and failed at working. It made them wonder how Luffy couldn't construct any sort of machine, but had been able to create living creatures.

Sabo and Ace had decided that Luffy's dream power and the power to conjure anything he wanted were two completely separate abilities. The vampire child did his best to create wings, but went about it in a way that would not make him able to fly. Instead of trying to create wings onto his back, he tried to build instead.

He used glue, wood and purple feathers, but all of his conjured items seemed to have an expiration time of twenty four minutes. So, when he finished building one wing, which was messy and clearly done by a four year old, it disappeared the second he tried making the next one.

Luffy didn't cry about it, but became frustrated and pouty when nothing was working. "I have an idea, Lu. I'll be right back," Sabo suddenly announced before standing up and leaving the room. Luffy watched the door close behind his brother and looked to Ace, expression looking questioning. Ace shrugged in response.

"He'll be back soon," the teen said with a smile. It was only five minutes later that Sabo entered the room with three books. They were books about animals, one encyclopedia of birds. Sabo sat down on the floor and pulled Luffy into his lap.

"Why don't we look at real bird wings, and try and make one of those? I'm sure it would work much better than arts and crafts bird wings," Sabo said with a kind smile. Luffy returned the smile, and the three brothers studied the pages of the book. Luffy didn't understand the anatomy much, and there were too many words for him to remember, but he was able to make a sloppy proto-type, though non-functional.

Ace eventually closed the bird book as he could tell Luffy was getting sleepy, and hadn't had his dinner yet. Luffy was very tired, but the older brothers knew he needed to eat, as he only consumed two meals "a day". He needed two large ones. It was three AM by the time Luffy was carried to the galley. The cooks were done for the night, with all the left overs tucked neatly away into one of the refrigerators.

When the three brothers reached the counter, Luffy sat down and Ace raided the fridge for food, not caring if Thatch was upset about it in the morning. After all, there were no cooks there. Ace saw the blood-candies in the freezer, so they were done and Luffy would eat some tomorrow night. He'll be so happy to.

Ace got out some cereal and milk for Luffy, as he requested sleepily, and gave him the big bowl, with some toast on the side. The boy was so tired that Sabo ended up moving him to sit in his lap to eat so he didn't fall off of the stool and potentially hurt himself.

Luffy didn't finish his bowl of cereal before he finally fell asleep, an hour earlier than usual. Ace picked him up gently and Sabo went to the kitchen to put the remaining cereal and milk down the drain and wash the bowl. Then, the brothers walked back to their cabin and tucked Lu in, changing his shorts into PJ shorts, but leaving the cotton t-shirt on.

The twins, Jojo, and Deuce were all already in the bedroom, Deuce changing into pajamas. "Hey guys," the blue haired man said quietly while Luffy was tucked in. Deuce seemed to noticed Sabo's pinched face. Even Ace didn't see it. However, Deuce said nothing of it. Sabo would talk to them when comfortable. The two older brothers never did well when pressured to do something. Sabo would get closed off and Ace cranky and irritable.

"Hey, how are you?" Sabo replied. Deuce said he'd been hanging out with Izo, helping him make new clothes for the crew. Deuce didn't like to brag about it, as Zeno and Saber teased him about it, but he was the one on the crew to fix up clothes that were in poor condition. He'd made Luffy a little bathrobe once when he was three, and so then he became the seamster. He didn't mind much, and since Luffy never went off the ship to shop, most of his clothes had been fitted or made by Deuce.

"H-how do you feel about this crew?" Sabo asked curiously, both still being quiet so as not to risk waking Luffy up, not that they thought he would, with the sun up and already being quite tired.

Deuce shrugged, but wore a smile. "They seem like good people so far." Sabo and Ace saw Aggie 68 nodding in agreement as he climbed onto the bottom bunk, as he was much too big to sleep on the top. "I still don't trust them completely, but I feel like they won't be killing us." Sabo had to agree with that statement.

Ace, predictably, did his best to ignore their conversation, not liking that his crew and family were starting to like the Whitebeards. He never thought they would join them as a whole, because Ace enjoyed the small sized crew and being a captain, but he didn't like that the Whitebeards were being so cozy with his friends and family. The Spades were only using them for security and convenience. That was it, wasn't it?

Then, there was his annoying reactions to things Marco did. He was nice to Ace. Even from the beginning, Marco hadn't jumped to conclusions about Luffy's status as human or vampire, and was downright wonderful to Lu. Ace was glad the pirates were nice to him, but Marco was especially nice. And Luffy seemed to like him a lot.

Honestly, blushing was getting annoying and it had only happened twice. But he knew, deep inside, in a place he never let anyone see was raw, no one on this crew or his own crew would ever want to be around him if they knew what he'd done.

He killed his mother. Circumstances aside, Ace had killed his mother. Stabbed her in the heart, right in front of the baby she'd never see grow up. Ace was a devil. The only way he could ever atone for it was to protect and raise his baby brother in the way his mother would have wanted. He would do that anyways, but with the backstory, it just made him want to dedicate everything to his brother.

-x-

When Thatch walked into his kitchen and saw that a bowl was in the wrong spot, he knew someone had been in his kitchen, and he grumbled about it the whole time he was cooking breakfast. But, maybe it had been Jojo and she was still making blood-candies, which he found in a sealed bag in the freezer. They looked like regular, strawberry hard candies. He wondered what they tasted like to Luffy, and if the rest of the crew's vampires would like to try them.

He took calm breaths and focused on breakfast to distract himself from his irritation about someone being in _his _kitchen. Thatch wondered how the Spades felt about everyone. They hadn't met all of the pirates since the Whitebeards had a very unique schedule, and someone was bound to be asleep when the Spade's were awake.

Thatch, and many of the others, were positive that not many ships could function like the Moby could. With someone always being awake and always being asleep. There were times when Thatch would go weeks without seeing one of the commanders. The Whitebeards were the biggest crew, with the most allies, so it worked that not everyone would be active at the same time.

The only other crew that Thatch thought might be able to function like this was the Big Mom Pirates, as they were a large crew as well. As far as he knew, though, vampires were the only creature besides giants who weren't found in Totto Land, so this set up wouldn't work out for them anyways.

The cook had no problem with vampires, and loved all of his family, but he sometimes wished they could all be awake at the same time. All hang out together. The only times they usually all stayed together at once was when there was a party, as they always threw them at night after the sun set.

He remembered how hard it had been for Haruta, and was glad he hadn't ever been turned. Though the Whitebeards welcomed vampires with open arms, they did their best not to let any of the human crew members change. Newborn vampires were a nightmare to deal with and a danger to the humans on board.

Plus, many of the vampires had never wanted to be vampires. It was either out of their control or they were dying and someone did it to "save" them. Thatch wished he could tell Ace that the vampires he was so afraid of hadn't wanted to be like they were. But, that wasn't his secret to tell. Besides, with Ace being on their ship for a couple months at least, maybe they could get him to not be afraid of them.

From what Thatch knew, they had come across a bad apple that killed their mother and complicated Luffy's life. He wished he could get Ace to realize that most vampires were just like normal people. After awhile, the bloodlust disappears, and the vampire does his or her best to blend in with life again, even if he couldn't go out into the sunlight again.

Namur was first to come to breakfast, being one of the early risers on the crew. He always got first serve with hot food. "Hey, Thatch. What's wrong?" the fishman asked at Thatch's still slightly pinched expression. So, Thatch explained about someone having been in his kitchen, other than Jojo most likely.

"Is anything broken?"

"No," Thatch replied. Namur didn't seem to get why it upset Thatch if no harm was done. "It's just that the kitchen is my safe space!" Thatch complained dramatically. "My space!"

"Okay, okay," Namur said, both hands held up in front of him in a peaceful gesture. "I'm sure whoever it was meant no harm. Probably was Ace or Sabo. You were asleep for their meals," the fishman commander pointed out.

Thatch huffed and went back to the next batch of pancakes, as more human pirates were coming in. Namur was probably right, about who it most likely had been and that they did no harm. Still, he wasn't used to things out of place in his kitchen. His sou chefs were allowed in, but other than them, everyone knew not to mess with the space. The head chef had given Jojo permission, but she was also a fellow head chef and had asked Thatch first.

Just thinking about her made Thatch blush like a schoolgirl. He ignored the laughter coming from the fishman behind him at the bar counter. Namur and everyone else all knew there was only one reason Thatch blushed. Not even when he was embarrassed. Ever since that one island four years ago, where Thatch had a cook off with another female chef and lost to the crowd that had gathered.

Nothing had happened from it, but he'd been mopey for weeks after they parted from the island, the other chef going to her own crew. He was teased mercilessly, and dubbed the easiest person on the crew to develop a crush. Might be because he loved cooking so much, and there were no female chefs. So, he knew he jumped the gun a lot, and felt he couldn't help it.

Besides, Jojo seemed very entertained and amused by his actions and reactions. Not in a mean way, though, or else Thatch's family would have reacted negatively to it. The truth was that they found it quite entertaining as well. And, as long as Jojo wasn't being cruel or mean, some amused chuckles and smiles weren't exactly crimes.

Marco walked over and sat at the counter, looking uneasy, and asked for some B negative. Thatch went to the blood fridge and fetched what his brother wanted.

-x-

The first time it happened, Marco didn't think much of it. Something had made Ace blush when Marco reunited him with his precious little brother after the puppy-hunt. Luffy had said nothing embarrassing, but Marco brushed it off. Besides, it had been a long time since he was around anyone young, and a human, too.

It had been over 190 years since he was a human teenager. He didn't remember much of it, honestly. Maybe it was just what they did. But, the second time it happened, it was different. When Marco had been interacting with the tiny child, Ace was openly uncomfortable with someone else touching his brother. He was clearly very protective and possessive about the boy. So, when Marco assured the teen he wouldn't let Luffy get hurt, he had expected Ace to look grumpy, disagree maybe.

Instead, he blushed. Again. But that's not only what happened. Sabo, Luffy, his crew, they couldn't tell. Those who were around hadn't noticed it either. It might be that Marco was just close enough, or that since he was one of the oldest, he had the best senses. So, he was the only one who smelled the pheromones.

It embarrassed Marco greatly, but he didn't let it show. He had a feeling Ace wasn't happy with it, so he would tell no one else. He saw the pinched face and narrowed eyes when Ace blushed. It was out of his control, and Marco didn't miss such things.

But, he wouldn't tell anyone else, as it was no one else's business how Ace felt about anything. And Marco wasn't about to spill something Ace might not even know about to who he considered strangers. The vampire had no doubt he would be teased, even slightly, if anyone knew how Ace had reacted. But, it was only once.

Marco looked down at his attire, the open shirt, and wondered if he should wear a closed shirt for now. Make it easier on the uncomfortable teen. Poor kid. Marco may not like some things about being a vampire, like being unable to eat anything other than blood, but he did not miss the human body's complications and disadvantages.

He was just grateful he'd been turned at 37 and not 68 like his father had been. He wasn't as eternally young as someone like Haruta, who had been changed at 24, but he was very grateful he wasn't stuck in old age for forever.

Marco asked for a second glass of blood, deciding he'd be dressing a bit less revealing for now.

-x-

Sabo woke at noon, and slowly and quietly stood up from the bed, leaving Luffy curled up in a ball still, covered by thick blankets and sucking his thumb. He had his stuffed animal tucked between his inner elbow and chest. Luffy was adorable, and it would never change to Sabo and Ace.

The middle child walked around the double bed and gently woke Ace up. They needed to talk about the state of the ship. Deuce and Jojo were both in the room, and were awoken by Sabo as well. Ace was groggy, but trusted Sabo that it was something they needed to talk about _without _the littlest member hearing.

When the other three heard about the state of their home, Ace was the most upset. Deuce was stoic, like usual, but Jojo was upset as well. It had been her home for two years. Two of the best years of her life.

Yes, they all thought this was a nice environment, but it wasn't home. Ace looked devastated, and it broke Sabo's heart. "If it needs to be replaced, then we'll buy a new one," Sabo insisted.

"With what money, Sabo?" Ace snapped. "We're not pirates, we don't raid and steal from other pirates. Especially now that we're on the Grand Line, stealing from cities isn't gonna work well. We're fucked."

Sabo was a bit surprised by the curse. He might say damn, but he rarely said "fuck". Almost never, really. Though Sabo had noticed he was swearing more since they entered the Grand Line.

"Calm down, Cap. We don't even know if the ship is too damaged to be repaired," Deuce reasoned. "Besides, for now, we are safe and secure. These pirates don't seem too bad, right?" Ace glared and shrugged. None of the other three said anything about Ace's childish actions. When he was stressed or worried, he closed off others, besides Luffy. Even Sabo was shut out. They hadn't been in a stressful situation like this, but when the rudder of their home was decimated, he'd steadily become crankier and crankier.

Luckily, young Luffy hadn't been affected or noticed. Ace was good at faking happiness around Luffy. He didn't want to worry the boy. To Luffy, Ace and Sabo were very happy people.

"Ace, I think we can trust these pirates," Sabo said gently, knowing that just that sentence contradicted itself. But, these pirates didn't seem like bad guys. At all, really. Ace frowned at the ground but didn't reply.

Instead, he grumbled unintelligible words and walked back into the bedroom to sleep with Luffy again to make him feel better. Ace wished he could be as young and naive as the four year old. Sabo didn't walk back in, and neither did the other two, knowing that Ace would only calm down with Luffy. They'd enter again in a few minutes.

Ace picked up the blanket again and draped it over himself as he laid down next to Luffy again. He touched the hand whose thumb wasn't in his mouth, and Luffy gripped it tightly. Then, the room changed colors and Ace knew he was finally seeing one of Luffy's dreams.

It was simple. The room was now a beach, and Luffy was playing in the waves now far from the furthest bunk bed to the door. The sounds of sea gulls flew over them, the ceiling completely gone and now the vast expanse of cloudless sky. Ace and Sabo were there, along with Marco.

The only way that anyone could tell this was a dream was that both Ace and Sabo had cat ears. And it was also daytime, with Luffy under the sun and in perfect health. Did Luffy want to be in the sun? The thought of that made Ace a bit sad.

The dream wavered for a second before Luffy was now sitting on the floor behind Ace. He experimentally crouched in front of dream Luffy and touched him. It was like he was made of some thick substance. Not completely solid, but not an illusion. The dream didn't notice Ace's presence.

Wings sprouted from dream Luffy's back, but they were much too small to work correctly. Ace smiled softly. Luffy was an angel, and now he had wings to match. The dream didn't last long, and dream Luffy hadn't learned to fly before it faded away. No more dreams came, but they had successfully distracted Ace, who went back to sleep in a good mood.


	11. A Big Scare!

**myzmsandraa99: No, it's one sided. Ace has a crush on Marco, but Marco isn't returning it. On ao3 I put one-sided love, so it isn't a spoiler.**

**sairakanzaki: Wait and you may find something like that happens. ;)**

**Son of Whitebeard: Yeah, Ace needs some happiness considering his constant anxiety. Poor guy.**

* * *

**School starts next week. I'm so nervous! There is some medical stuff in this chapter, I tried to keep it realistic as I could. Enjoy~**

* * *

The moment Luffy woke up, he remembered his dream. For some reason, the last couple of days he had remembered all of his dreams. They were all fun, and the last one was helpful. He hadn't flown in the dream, but maybe he could make his own wings now! His dream version did, after all.

He noticed that Ace was still in the room, but awake and at the edge of their bed, reading a book in his own fire light. Sabo wasn't in the room, or anyone else either. Luffy slowly and sneakily crawled to the end of the bed and jumped on Ace, shouting, "Boo!"

Ace had heard the rustling of the blankets and slight creaking of the bed and knew what Luffy was doing, so, when the boy pounced, Ace pretended to be shocked and jumped. Luffy erupted into giggles. "I got you!" he cheered. Ace smiled at him fondly and ruffled his hair. "Guess what? I had a dream about making wings."

Ace reclined against the foot of the bed and patted his lap for Luffy to come and sit. "I saw your dream, like Sabo did last night. It's very interesting," the older brother said. "Do you like remembering your dreams?" Luffy nodded, and exclaimed that they were fun and now he gets to share them with Ace and Sabo.

"Do you wanna remember yours? I wanna see Ace and Sabo's dreams!" he gushed, throwing his hands wide. Ace frowned softly.

"I don't think you would wanna see my dreams, Lu. I have bad ones sometimes. It wouldn't be fun for anyone to see," he said honestly. Luffy looked at him sadly. He never liked seeing other people sad, _especially _Ace or Sabo.

"I will chase them away," the vampire child said with conviction, sounding especially determined. Ace smile softly, and whispered, "You already do, Luffy." Luffy smiled at this, glad he could help his favorite people ever. "You're the best thing to ever happen to us." Ace hugged Luffy close. "Love you."

Luffy hugged Ace back with a smile. "Ace and Sabo are the best. I love you, too," the boy replied.

Ace suddenly felt strange. Tired and droopy. He wondered if it was Luffy doing something, but he wouldn't know what. Another new power? To make him fall asleep? But Ace didn't want to fall asleep. He was the only one in the room to supervise Luffy. Sabo and the others had left half an hour ago to talk to the pirates about maybe sharing some duties, as the Spades who weren't supervising Luffy were feeling quite useless and like freeloaders.

The world around Ace blurred and sound started to disappear, and he couldn't focus on what Luffy was babbling about anymore, before he finally slumped to the side, hitting the wooden floor hard. If he wasn't a logia, it probably would have hurt.

Luffy hit the floor with an "Oof" when he fell with Ace. The big brother's arm cushioned Luffy's head, so he didn't feel any pain. "Ace?" the boy asked. When Ace didn't reply, just stayed still, Luffy tried shaking him awake, but Ace continued to sleep. So, Luffy started wailing and sobbing extremely loudly, shouting Ace's name in panic and fear. He didn't register the light snores in his panic. Ace just collapsed and _wouldn't wake up. _

-x-

Haruta was walking through the halls, heading to the bathhouse, when he heard screaming and crying. Only one voice would sound so high and loud. Luffy was crying. At first, he thought that one of his brothers would help him, but then he heard the boy shouting his brother's name, and Haruta sped down the hall and to the Spades' room. He opened the door to see Luffy kneeling next to an unconscious Ace.

"Ace!" Luffy cried, before turning to the door and shouting. "Haru, save Ace!" Haruta didn't wait to ask any questions, just scooped the human up easily and sprinted down the halls and to the infirmary, Luffy just barely able to keep up. Haruta was sure Ace was asleep, but too deeply to be normal.

A few pirates were shoved out of the way and Haruta made his way to the infirmary. He said nothing when they ran into Marco, who asked what was wrong with Ace. Haruta just kept running. He could hear Marco behind him, now carrying the still crying child.

When they reached the infirmary, Haruta shouted for the nurses and laid Ace on one of the empty beds. Luffy was still crying when Marco reached the room. Ace was already being tended to. Marco set Luffy down, who ran to Ace and continued asking if Ace was okay. It was a sad sight.

"Haruta, go find Sabo," Marco said in a low voice, low enough for Haruta to hear from across the room. Though, Luffy could probably hear it too. He was still part vampire, after all. The nurses found nothing wrong. Ace had no fever, or looked sickly. It just seemed like he fell asleep. Marco turned to Luffy and crouched in front of him. "Luffy, what happened?" he asked kindly.

Through sniffles and tears, Luffy explained that he and Ace were talking and then Ace just fell asleep and wouldn't wake up. Marco didn't reassure him because he didn't want anything to end up being a lie. If Ace really was very sick, he didn't want to tell Luffy everything would be okay. Sabo could decide whether to say that or not.

Marco heard thundering footsteps a few minutes after Haruta left, and Sabo and some of his crew ran in, freezing at seeing Ace unconscious on the bed, Luffy crying next to him. "What happened?" Sabo demanded.

"Sabo! Ace fell asleep and won't wake up!" Luffy cried, running to his other brother, who picked him up and held him close. "We were just talking and then he fell over." Sabo looked extremely terrified for just a second before he hid the fear behind a mask, not wanting to scare Luffy. When Ace woke up, he'd be angry if Sabo had made it worse.

"It's okay, Lu. I'm sure Ace will be fine." But he wasn't sure. Ace had gotten a lot of sleep that day. Maybe something medical happened? Or someone drugged him? But, he couldn't see Thatch drugging Ace, and no one else would have gotten close enough to do so, so the teen pushed that suspicion out of his mind. He didn't need to start being suspecting of everyone around him besides his crew and family.

Aggie 68 was asked to tell the nurses Ace's medical history, as something might clue them in on what happened. But, Aggie 68 rarely took care of Ace. He was very healthy, and never got injured due to his logia power. He quietly said he knew nothing of the brothers' family history.

Tami, one of the nurses, turned to Sabo with a stern look. "I need to know family medical history to better help Ace and know what the condition is." Sabo looked uncomfortable. It wasn't as if Sabo and Ace didn't want anyone to know anything, they didn't know anything. Their extended family disowned their mother before Ace and Sabo were even born. They also knew nothing of their _father's _family medical history either, as he wasn't in their life for more than a few weeks. That bastard.

"We don't know anything about family medical history," Sabo answered truthfully. Haruta and Marco could both tell that he wasn't lying based on the speed of his heart beat. Marco gave a meaningful nod to the nurse, who sighed. This was inconvenient, but she didn't press the matter further.

"Then we will continue to observe him until he wakes up. He isn't in a coma, so don't worry about that," Tami assured the brothers and their crew. Sabo still looked uneasy when Luffy wasn't looking at his face. The group of pirates and sailors waited anxiously for Ace to wake up.

He did wake up around fifteen minutes after he fell asleep. It had felt like hours to his brothers. Marco was the first to notice Ace's breathing pick up, and walked over to him, but Ace wasn't moving. His eyes were open and he looked absolutely panicked, before seeming to look at something behind Marco and be in even more fear.

"Ace, you okay?" Marco asked, alerting Sabo and Luffy that their brother had woken up. Luffy wriggled out of Sabo's arms and ran to Ace. He stood on his tiptoes to see Ace's face.

"Ace?" Luffy asked worriedly. Ace seemed scared, so Luffy reached up and grabbed his hand. Almost immediately, Ace's breathing slowed and he didn't look so scared. Then, he jerked upright and looked absolutely terrified, though not at something in the room anymore.

Tami walked over and asked how he felt. If he remembered what had happened before he passed out. "I was with Luffy, and then I just got so tired and fell asleep. I… I _couldn't move," _he said in a hushed voice. "An-and there was something behind Marco, but it's gone now." The teen reached to the side and picked Luffy up and hugged him tightly. "I'm okay now, though," he added, probably just to soothe his brothers. Sabo was looking at him in concern and worry.

Tami wrote down what Ace had said, and made a "hmmm..." sound before walking into the back room with her clipboard. Marco followed, leaving the Spades to their captain, asking if he was alright.

"I think I know what's wrong with him," Tami said to Marco as the woman sorted through the desne stack of medical books on the desk. "The symptoms match with a disorder called narcolepsy. The sleep attacks, the sleep paralysis, hallucinations. Luckily, we have some medication for it since Lance has narcolepsy as well. It's actually good that Ace sleeps so much and always wakes up and goes to bed at the same time. Luffy's sleep schedule is convenient for him."

"With whatever happened in their life before they set out to see, having Luffy is probably a blessing," Marco said quietly. The fear he saw in Ace's eyes was terrible. Not only was he paralyzed, but hallucinating. With no possible way to try and get away, unable to move. What a nightmare. Poor kid.

Tami walked out of the back office, Marco following behind, and sat next to the bed that Ace and Luffy were sitting on. "I know what happened, even without any family medical history. It's called narcolepsy. There is no cure, but it can be managed with medications and a slight change in lifestyle," Tami explained. She held up a small bottle, full of small white capsules.

"Narcolepsy is a disorder where your sleep schedule is off, very much. You may pass out from time to time, or wake up and be unable to move. And hallucinations may come as well. But, medication will help with the symptoms. I want you to take two of these, one twice a day. Take it with your breakfast, and then when you are going to bed.

"I know your sleep schedule is different, due to Luffy's, but you should take some naps even during the night when you're usually awake," Tami finished. She felt bad for Ace, who was looking humiliated.

Sabo looked at his brother knowingly. Ace felt weak. It was clear as day. He had to be thinking that he can't protect Luffy if he's passed out. Sabo would reassure him later, in private. Luffy seemed to realize Ace was sad as well and hugged his chest. Ace buried his face in Luffy's fluffy hair. He needed another bath.

What if Ace passed out in the bath? He could die because of this! He was no longer embarrassed, but angry. His body temperature rose a bit, but it didn't burn Luffy, thankfully. That would only make Ace feel worse. Ace reached his hand out for the pill bottle. "Thanks," he mumbled. "Can we go now?"

Tami sighed. "Yes, you can go. Check in with me in a week so I can see how you're feeling with the medication. What time do you usually go to bed?"

"When the sun comes up. So, five something," Sabo replied for Ace. "When should Ace take his rests?"

"In the middle of the night to see how that works. If it's not enough, make it twice a night. You will most likely become sleepier earlier, so taking naps will help with that. There's nothing you can do to change this, and you didn't cause this to happen, so don't feel guilty about something you can't control," Tami said a little harshly. "We already have a crew member with narcolepsy, so you aren't alone. Besides, compared to some of the diseases or disorders on this crew, yours is not nearly debilitating. Check back in with me in a week."

Everyone took this as the time to leave, and the Spades headed to the galley for breakfast. They were now all awake at the same time mostly, besides Aggie 68, and Jojo, who seemed to do fine with not much sleep.

Marco and Haruta both smiled to each other after seeing the little family and how much they cared for their brother and captain. Pops was right about these people being good ones.

-x-

Ace, Luffy, Sabo and the Spades were all in their bedroom. After they ate, and Ace took the pills, he was feeling down and wanted to get away from the stranger/pirates. As a group, they had headed back to the room and all sat down, either on the floor or the beds.

"How do you feel, Ace?" Sabo asked quietly. Ace was looking very tired, even though he had had a full night's rest. Maybe he should have a nap now.

Instead of answering Sabo's question, he dejectedly grumbled, "This is so stupid. I have to take naps like a kid." Luffy frowned, wondering what was so bad about napping.

"Cap, you're not weak for having an uncontrollable disorder. Think of Luffy. He can't go into the sun, or stay awake during the day, but here he is, happy and cheerful almost every night. Everyone has to have _some _problem, right?" Deuce asked. Ace grumbled unintelligible words.

"Is Ace sleepy now?" Luffy wondered innocently. Ace shook his head defiantly. He didn't want to sleep, it wasn't even _close _to bed time! But, he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Ace, just go to sleep. Don't you want to be awake with you time with Lu?" Sabo asked, an eyebrow raised. Ace scowled, but then got up and climbed under the covers. Luffy wasn't sleepy, but he didn't want to leave Ace alone in the room.

The boy wandered the Ace and pat his head once. "No bad dreams," he said sternly, something Luffy rarely sounded. Ace smiled, and mumbled, "I'll try, Lu," and fell asleep. Sabo dimmed the lights a bit, though they were still on enough to see each other. Jojo was asked to get Luffy his candies, and she came back a few minutes later with the big bag of homemade candies. By the time she was back, all the others besides Deuce had left the room, apparently going to go bathe.

Luffy and Sabo were going to bathe after Ace's nap was over. Jojo sometimes wished she wasn't the only girl on their crew. Taking baths alone were boring. She hadn't talked to any of the other few females on the ship yet, as they spent most of their time below deck in the infirmary. With a ship with over a thousand people in it, they must be quite busy quite often. The Spades were surprised with how empty the infirmary had been.

But, she was used to being only around men her whole life. She just hoped the people on Whitebeard's ship would treat her as well as the Spades crew did. Jojo left the room with a wave to go to the women's bath, which she would have all to herself since she assumed the other nurses besides Tami were asleep, as they hadn't been in the infirmary.

"Sabo? Will Ace be okay?" Luffy asked suddenly, wringing his hands in worry. "I love Ace a lot, I don't like seeing him sad." Sabo crouched in front of the four year old and assured him that Ace would be fine, just more sleepy now.

"But what about the bad dreams?"

"Ace is tough. He'll be okay. And he has us to help him if he is having a hard time," Sabo replied kindly. "Do you want to draw while we wait for him to wake up?" Luffy agreed, and the two drew pictures on sketch pads that came from the Spades poor injured ship. The four year old drew like your usual four year old would. Unintelligible, but Sabo complimented them anyways. Ace woke up only half an hour after he fell asleep, and luckily didn't hallucinate. Maybe Luffy had some other power to repel bad dreams? If so, then Ace was grateful for it.

The teen sat up and yawned, slightly embarrassed by the whole thing. "I'm awake," he said quietly, though Sabo and Luffy could hear. "Thanks, Lu. I didn't have any bad dreams," Ace told him, ruffling his hair.

"We're gonna all go take a bath, now," Sabo announced. Ace nodded and grabbed a wad of clean clothes to change into after done bathing. Luffy cheered happily, liking the massive bathtub and bathing with his brothers.

What they hadn't been counting on was other people being there. Ace and Sabo were thoroughly uncomfortable bathing with strangers. Ace held Luffy back from undressing and running into the water. "What's wrong? Aren't we gonna take a bath?" Luffy wondered, confused. His voice brought attention to the three, awkwardly standing in front of at least a dozen naked strangers. Both teens' faces were bright red. Someone took pity on them.

"Would you like to use the more private bathroom?" a random pirate asked. Sabo nodded and thanked the man, looking away as he got out and dressed to lead them to a more secluded bath. "This one isn't used much, but it still works. It has a habit of overflowing, but hopefully it won't with you three. Your crew already left the bathhouse, by the way. Just thought you should know."

"Thanks," Ace mumbled. The handles to the bath squeaked obnoxiously, and cold water came out of the tap. Luffy was wandering around the room, half clothed, looking for bubbles or some soaps and hair products. He couldn't reach the cabinet that he could smell soap from, so he made a wooden box and climbed on top of that to reach the cupboard's handle.

He came back a few minutes later, arms full of soaps and shampoos. Sadly, he couldn't find any bubbles. "I found stuff!" he declared and dumped the products into the rising bath water. He discarded the rest of his clothes and jumped into the tub, making some waves. Ace was last to enter, and sat in the more shallow areas. He wished he could swim with Sabo and Luffy, but this was the price he paid for being a devil fruit user.

"Watch!" Luffy suddenly shouted as he made his hands float on the water's surface and had foamy bubbles erupt out of his hands. It soon enveloped the entire tub and over flowed over the sides and onto the tile.

Neither Ace nor Sabo told him not to. After all, it would disappear in a little while. Luffy flailed around in the bubbles, laughing loudly. Sabo parted the bubbles around him and waded to the side of the tub and rested up against it next to Ace. Luffy continued to use his mysterious powers and soon the tub was full of bath toys. It was too bad the illusions didn't last, or else they could have endless amounts of money and resources.

Sabo noticed that Ace was looking down, staring at the foamy water in front of him, trusting Sabo to keep his eyes on their little brother, who was playing with all of his new, temporary toys. "Don't feel bad, Ace. Deuce was right. Look at Luffy. He has all these restraints but still lives happily," Sabo tried to convince. Ace gave him a frown.

"Deuce meant well, but Luffy and my case are completely different, and in no way comparable. Luffy is four. I'm the captain, older brother. I gotta look out for you and Lu, but now I have this… this _stupid _problem which will mess with all of the good things we have built in the past two years," Ace grumbled. Sabo sighed.

Sabo was never fond of Ace's pessimism, even before Luffy was born or even conceived. Ace was never the glass half full one of the family. It got a lot worse after what happened with Luffy's birth, but when Lu learned to talk, Ace got much happier. Even when they were on the sea, struggling to afford anything, Ace was happy. Now, the ship's condition and his new health problems were dragging him down. Well, Sabo wouldn't let it.

"You don't have a terminal illness, okay? You aren't going to die just because you get tired more than you did before. And it's a good thing we have two captains, right? You don't have to shoulder all the responsibility. Besides, we have a good crew that we can trust to protect Luffy if the need ever arises. Stop beating yourself up about something you didn't cause and quit moping. It's bothering the crew and Luffy." Ace flinched after hearing he was bothering Luffy with his behavior. Sabo knew it was a low blow. But he wanted Ace to get a grip. Plus, it really was troubling Luffy, regardless of whether he showed it all of the time or not.

Said vampire waded over to them to show all of his new, temporary toys off. "Very cool, Lu. You're getting the hang of your new powers very fast. Remember when Ace got his power and kept catching the deck on fire?" Sabo teased. Ace weakly shoved his arm, drained from the water he was sitting in.

Sabo began to wash Luffy's hair as the boy played with the bubbles that hadn't dissipated yet and were still very foamy, unlike a regular bubble bath would be. Luffy hummed to himself while he was being washed. "I like the peoples here," he suddenly declared. "They helped Ace, an' I get to be with Ace and Sabo at the same time!"

Ace and Sabo froze. "Don't you want to go home, Lu? Back to our ship?" Luffy thought for a moment, not sure what the answer was.

"Hum… I like new people and the big place and being with Ace and Sabo, but I miss my room. But, as long as I get to be with Ace and Sabo, I'm happy. I just wanna meet new people more," Luffy answered. "I like being with you and our family most of all. I never got to see them before, all at the same time," Luffy replied with a bright smile.

Sabo smiled at this, but noticed Ace looked extremely uncomfortable, but was trying to hide his feelings behind a strained smile. Luffy didn't notice, but Sabo definitely did. He let out a tiny sigh, but distracted Luffy by asking for him to clean his hair, and so Luffy thoroughly scrubbed Sabo's hair. A little too hard for comfort, but not painful, so Sabo didn't stop him.

Ace was still moping, slowly washing his own hair, thinking about things his family wouldn't want him to. Luffy liked these people, and this ship. What if he'd rather be with the Whitebeards and not the Spades? And if Luffy wanted to stay with the Whitebeards, they would let Sabo stay as well, no doubt. But… what about Ace? What if they knew what he'd done? That he'd killed two people. Both of his _parents _no matter how much he hated his biological father. Ace stabbed both of them to death with a broken broom stick.

With a crew that clearly has strong familial bonds, would Ace be welcome after he murdered his own and left him and his brothers to be orphans? Sabo had told him not to kill Makino. Maybe they could have gotten Lu away, and let Makino change and they could have waited it out for her to get control. Luffy would have a mother to grow up with and be loved.

Ace took that away. Would Luffy hate him if he knew? He'd never tell him. He couldn't imagine Luffy hating him. He was startled out of his brooding thoughts when all of the bubbles disappeared, the conjured toys leaving not long after. Luffy didn't grow upset with it, just had a little pout before moving on. When he started to shiver, Sabo decided that it was getting too cold in the tub and they left. Ace couldn't tell the water was getting cold, as it was impossible for him to grow cold or hot at all due to his devil fruit.

The three brothers weren't unprepared but were also surprised when Thatch met them in the hall, Izo following. Sabo politely asked if they needed something, before Izo crouched and spoke to Luffy.

"Would you like to play dress up, Luffy?" Izo asked sweetly.

"Dress up?" Luffy asked, cocking his head. He'd never played something called "dress up". So, Izo explained that it was putting on many outfits. "I've made many costumes for you to try on. It will be fun!"

"And I've made you some yummy dessert. Have you ever had chocolate cake with glazed juice on it?" Thatch asked with a grin. Sabo and Ace couldn't help but think that that sounded disgusting.

"I wanna try!" Luffy cheered. He liked chocolate, and his juice was yummy, too, so that dessert must be super delicious.

"Do you want to play dress up before or after your cake?" Luffy, predictably, wanted the cake first, as soon as possible. On the group's way to the galley, Thatch explained to the co-captains that he made some regular cake for them as well, as he wouldn't leave them out while Luffy had delicious cake. "I can give Jojo the recipe for them if you like the taste."

Before Ace and Sabo could stop Luffy from saying anything, the boy babbled about the toys and bubbles he'd made in the bath tub, which was super big and fun to play in. It was a lot bigger than the one on his home ship, so he got to bathe with his big brothers.

Thatch hadn't heard about Luffy being the one to conjure all of the puppies and strange illusion that had overtaken the ship not long ago. He was surprised by it, but didn't give that fact away. He wasn't angry about it or anything, just amazed. He just didn't want to make Ace and Sabo uneasy by giving away the fact he hadn't known about it before then.

"You guys used the old bathhouse?" Izo asked curiously. He noticed both Ace and Sabo had pink cheeks, and smirked behind his hand. "Were you uncomfortable bathing with strangers?" he almost teased.

"Shut up," Ace grumbled irritably. "We barely know anyone here. Besides, we don't want full grown strangers bathing with a child," Ace added more quietly, even though Luffy still had good hearing. Though, he was talking with Thatch more now, not paying much attention to Izo and his brother's conversation.

They reached the galley, where there were some vampires and humans, mingling around. They'd passed a few pirates in the halls, but they paid little attention to the group. Ace and Sabo were glad the pirates weren't all wanting to touch Luffy to feel the good feeling he gave off. Luffy may like lots of physical contact, but his big brothers wouldn't allow him doing so with complete strangers.

With someone like these two or Marco, Ace and Sabo trusted them a bit more than everyone else, as they'd spent the most time with those three, and Marco had already proven himself dependable when he returned the wandering Luffy back to Ace.

Marco was a good guy, Ace thought in the back of his head. Then, he switched 180 degrees and thought about the fact that he was a vampire. A very old one. How many humans had he killed? But, could Ace really talk, as he was a murderer himself? He felt so conflicted.

When the three brothers sat at their usual barstools, they were served the cake, which was delicious to all of them. So moist and spongy and wonderful. The glazed blood on Luffy's looked like blood frosting, and the teens wondered how it was made, and that the variety of blood dishes made was impressive.

"Can any of the full vampires eat this?" Sabo wondered, gesturing to Luffy's rapidly disappearing slice of cake.

"No, that's why it's fun cooking for Luffy. I get to make new food that no one else on this ship can eat," Thatch replied. When Luffy thrusted his empty plate into the air, asking for seconds, Sabo was the one to stop him.

"No more sugar tonight, Lu," Sabo said, earning a pout. But, Luffy nodded. "I'm sure you can have some more tomorrow night," the big brother assured, getting an affirmation from Thatch. After Luffy's face was wiped off chocolate, he jumped off the stool and asked Izo when it was dress up time. Said pirate grinned and lead Luffy through the ship to the dressing room that the seamsters made the clothes in.

Many of the clothes worn by the Whitebeards were made on the ship. After all, clothes often became damaged by battles or the wear and tear of being pirates, so replacement clothes were made for them, as they didn't always have access to a town with a clothing store.

Izo and Thatch had been coming up with clothing ideas for the boy, since he seemed to only wear pyjama-like clothes, and they just knew the boy would be adorable in anything they put him in. Ace and Sabo followed, visibly uncomfortable. What kind of outfits were these pirates planning on making the kid wear?

What they didn't know was that the whole ship had been doing a poll on what clothes to make Luffy. Since the brothers stayed with themselves so much when they were active, they never caught on. Even their own crew had voted. Izo and his division had been quite busy.

When the group reached the dressingroom, Ace and Sabo were shocked by the sheer amount of outfits that Luffy was to try on. It must have taken a very long time to make all of them, and the brothers could recognize some of the clothing as miniature versions of some of the commanders' outfits. They also saw a camera-snail was set up in the corner. What was this, some sort of _fashion show_?

The two wanted to withdraw Luffy, but he was excited to see all of the costumes made for him to try. Deuce had to be involved in this, as he was the one to repair clothes, and had all of Luffy's dimensions. Traitor. Not even telling them about this. Ace would have a talk with his crew. They had to all be in on this, as one of the outfits for Luffy to try on was Sparky's!

Predictably, Luffy needed help with dressing in some of the outfits. Like Haruta's and the chef outfit he couldn't manage to get on by himself. For each outfit Luffy tried on, he'd run out of the stall and pose. Ace and Sabo were just happy he was having fun. Izo and Thatch did seem like good people.

The piece of clothing Ace was most fond of was the captain's coat that had been made for him. It wasn't the same quality of Whitebeard's, but it was made well. Luffy wanted to keep all of the clothes, and of course he could, as it wasn't as if the ship had another four year old to give all of these clothes to.

But then, Izo gave both Ace and Sabo a smirk and pulled out the final two outfits. Both were a replica of one of the brothers' outfits. Equipped with the top hat, though Ace's hat was too unique to recreate. Luffy thought it was so cool to match with Sabo, and asked for a picture with Sabo. Luffy looked tiny in Ace's outfit, which was just regular black shorts and black socks, since shoes were more difficult to make than clothes.

Luffy was very skinny and small for his age, so being shirtless just looked strange. When he began to yawn tiredly, Ace and Sabo helped the sleepy boy change into his original clothes. There was a pile of printed photos next to the camera snail that Izo and Thatch would no doubt show around the ship for everyone. After Luffy ate his dinner, and Ace and Sabo's breakfast, Ace carried Luffy to their room. Zeno and Sparky were both getting ready for bed. Sabo and Ace wondered where they went during the day. What everyone did during the day when they weren't with the brothers.

Part of the two captains missed seeing them all the time on their tiny ship. They wanted it to be repaired already so they could be on their way. They weren't used to so many people, even at night when there were fewer. They had been all alone with each other and their mom for so long, and then two years of isolation while hiding Luffy away from the others on their island.

Ace said nothing about it, but he was growing steadily more uneasy as the days passed and his crew was with the others. Did they prefer Whitebeard's crew? Ace and Sabo were captains, but still teenagers. Did their crew find Whitebeard and his commanders' ages more… reliable than two teens who'd only been sailing one year when they first joined. Whitebeard had been a pirate for a long time. Did they prefer him?

He couldn't let the worry leave him as he laid down in bed next to Luffy, who was very sleepy and had his thumb in his mouth. Luffy seemed clueless most of the time. Innocent and unaware of the big bad world that Ace and Sabo kept him safe from, but sometimes he really knew his brothers. The boy tapped Ace's head and said, "No bad dreams or thoughts." Ace smiled warmly at him.

"Thanks, Lu."

Though, Ace wasn't the one who needed to be told not to have a bad dream.


	12. First Nightmare

**Samster7241: Luffy is their little angel.**

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**School starts a week from now and I'm writing up another story like crazy and I really want to finish it in time. it's really long, though, and will no doubt take awhile to edit so I'm not sure when it will be done. Anyways, enjoy this chapter. A little creepiness, but not too bad.**

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Around noon, with most of the Spades asleep, the second very strange event occurred. It wasn't like the previous one where the whole ship turned into a very detailed castle, each room affected. This time, it wasn't just startling, but a bit frightening. Screams and shouts of confusion or horror filled the Moby Dick. Marco was walking down one of the hallways, heading to the kitchen for some blood, when he saw the first person running past him.

He paused, and then heard the shouts of alarm. The man sprinted down the hall towards the shouts and came to a sudden halt in front of a figure that clearly wasn't human. Marco felt no presence from it, like it wasn't even there. As some pirates ran away from the sight, Marco slowly walked closer.

The figure was all black except for a white face, with no face on it. It was much taller than any of the normal human sized pirates. It did nothing but stand there and face Marco, like it was staring at him, but had no eyes.

To say it was creepy would be an understatement.

"Commander, what are you doing?" a man from the second division asked when Marco reached out a hand to touch it. Surprisingly, Marco's hand went right through it. Previously, Luffy's dream creations had been solid. His powers really were a mystery, but these were clearly nightmares, even if they did nothing hostile and were just creepy.

Marco calmly and quickly turned around and headed to the Spades' room, passing more of the tall figures, who didn't move. They just stood there. It didn't make Marco the least bit afraid. He did wonder where such a creepy concept had come from in the innocent little boy's head. Marco was positive his brothers would never read Luffy any scary stories.

The phoenix vampire reached the Spades' room and slowly opened the door without knocking. They were all asleep, so no one saw one of the creepy figures standing in the room. It would be best that none of them woke to that, and Marco walked to the bed and reached over Sabo's side and gently shook Luffy awake. The moment his eyes opened, the disturbing figure vanished.

"Hey, Luffy, you okay?" Marco asked quietly. Luffy sniffled, clearly remembering the scary dream, whatever it had been. But the boy nodded. Ace and Sabo both woke up, wondering why Marco was there. Ace got defensive, glaring up at him, irritated someone got that close to them without either of them waking up immediately.

"What are you doing here, commander?" Sabo asked curiously, sleep still thick in his voice. Marco leaned back and now stood next to the bed instead of over them. Marco didn't know if he should explain what had happened or not with Luffy awake.

"Bad dream," Marco hinted, his eyes flicking to Luffy, who was hugging his stuffed animal tightly to his chest, wobbly bottom lip and teary eyes present. Sabo understood what Marco was trying to say, and looked worried and guilty. The worst thing had happened that they were nervous about. Luffy had unknowingly projected whatever nightmare he was having on the ship.

Marco seemed to understand what Sabo must be thinking, and said, "Don't worry, no one got hurt." He gave the brothers a reassuring smile. Ace's cheeks turned red again, and he looked down at his hands irritably. Sabo saw this out of the corner of his eye, and held in an amused smile.

"Thank you, commander, for waking Luffy up when we didn't know. Sorry to cause any trouble because of it," Sabo replied.

"It's fine. Get some more sleep. I'll see you later," the vampire phoenix said. He closed the door quietly behind him and Luffy shimmied back under the covers and fell asleep. The sun was still up after all.

Sabo smirked. "Marco is attractive, isn't he?" Sabo teased. Ace's face turned dark red and he glared hatefully at Sabo. He turned onto his other side, reminding Sabo of a child. Sabo snickered behind Ace, but didn't say anything else on the subject. They both fell asleep again in the silence of the room. Neither noticed the others in the room who silently laughed at Sabo's words. They weren't brave enough to tease their captain, though.

-x-

People were shaken by the illusions that had suddenly disappeared. Marco walked past pirates, telling them everything was fine. But, many were now convinced the ship was haunted, and asked Marco to talk with the captain about it. Marco assured them as best as he could that he was positive the ship wasn't haunted. But what was he supposed to tell them had happened? What he and the others who knew had been worrying about was true. Nightmares could come to life. This time it wasn't harmful, just unnerving, but what about the next time the boy has a bad dream?

He had to go talk to Whitebeard about it.

It was still daytime, but the captain needed to know about it as soon as possible, especially as it could happen again anytime soon if Luffy had gone back to sleep. Marco had to agree with his family, though. The apparations were quite alarming, even just doing nothing. He passed Jozu in the commander's hallway, and was given a questioning look for going to wake up Pops in the middle of the day when he was sleeping. Marco just told him everything was fine, and he just had something important to tell the captain.

Marco knocked on the bedroom door, and was answered immediately. "Come in," Whitebeard's deep voice said. Marco opened the door and entered, closing it quietly behind him. "What is it, son?" Whitebeard asked, looking concerned even though Marco had done his best to conceal his nervousness.

"Luffy had a nightmare that affected the whole ship," Marco said, getting right to the point. The captain's face suddenly looked grim. "The apparitions didn't hurt anyone, they just stood around and did nothing. They also weren't tangible. When I went to wake him up, they disappeared," the first mate explained. "What should we do?"

Whitebeard thought for a moment. "Luffy didn't mean for that to happen. He can't control his dreams. It will be hard to train him to not having his dreams or nightmares become illusions everyone else can see. You said the nightmares didn't hurt anyone?" Marco shook his head. "I don't think we should kick them off or anything rash like that. We should wait it out. Our crew is strong, I doubt any monsters from a four year old is going to get the best of us."

"Well, people think the ship is haunted now," Marco pointed out. His father laughed loudly. "Well, it's the only semi-logical guess hey have."

"I suppose that is true. Still, I don't know what we should tell them. I'm positive Ace and Sabo, and their crew, would not like Luffy being the center of everyone's attention again, especially for something that could have mixed reactions. After all, these powers might be able to do harm, even if it is unintentional. When Luffy just gave off the nice feeling, there was nothing negative about that."

Marco frowned. "You think some of the crew will hurt or hate him?"

"Well, I sure hope not. But, some are afraid of the unknown, you know. As far as I know, there is no devil fruit that is what Luffy's powers are. I could be wrong, but it just seems too overpowered in a way to be a devil fruit."

"Plus, it takes a long time to master a devil fruit. Took you and I decades to fully master our powers. Luffy is four, meaning, if he _did _eat a devil fruit, he would have learned all of these powers in just a few years or even months. He can't control them yet, but I know it takes a long time to unlock a variety of powers for such a versatile fruit. I think the smarter of the crew would make that leap and agree with me, becoming more suspicious," Marco hypothesized.

"Luffy sure does make things interesting. And Ace, I heard about the narcolepsy incident." Then he wore a mischievous grin. "But, if he's having trouble with it, then he might want to stay after all. To help us protect Luffy whenever he feels he can't." Then he laughed. Marco shook his head.

"Don't let him hear you say that. He's quite the hot head. Except when it comes to Luffy, of course," Marco replied.

"Their bond is very tight. Makes me wonder what really happened when their mother was starting to turn. Must have been a nightmare experience," the captain said sadly. "Well, I'm going back to bed for now. I think we should have a talk with the Spades and our commanders about where to move on from here. We should have more people knowing so they can calm the others below them."

Marco nodded and said good day and left the room. Jozu was still there in the hallway, and Marco said, "We'll talk about it when the Spades are awake. Why don't you help me tell the others to be prepared to stay up late tonight?" Jozu agreed and walked off to inform the human commanders about the meeting. The vampires were still sleeping. Most of them. They would be awake for the meeting.

-x-

Luffy had no more nightmares, to everyones' thanks. Almost the minute the sun officially set, and the night sky shone above them, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Luffy and his brothers had already awoken, but the knock on the door woke up the other Spades. All of them had come in sometime during the day and so they were all present for Marco telling them there was a meeting that the pirates would like them to come to.

Ace and Sabo became worried. Marco seemed to know this, and smiled at them. "Don't worry, no one is in trouble," he assured. Sabo snickered when Ace blushed again, who hit him painfully in the shoulder. Luffy looked up at them with a frown. Sabo gave him a reassuring smile that they weren't really mad at each other.

"Let's go meet the rest of the commanders. How about it?" Sabo asked Luffy, who nodded with a smile, happy to meet more people. So many new people made him very happy. The Spades, all together now and dressed in changes of clothes, walked in their usual pattern, like they didn't know they were in strategic positions to keep anyone from harming Luffy.

Marco walked ahead of all of them, leading them through the ship's long and many halls. When they reached a part none of them had seen yet, they came to a large double door. When they opened it, there were already fourteen commanders there and the captain. There were nine chairs on the opposite side of the table, which were clearly meant for the Spades. The one meant for Luffy had a stack of large books on it so he could reach the table.

Ace lifted him onto it and both he and Sabo sat on either side of the boy. Both were a bit nervous. Marco went to his seat, next to the captain, and clasped his hands together on the table.

"First, we'll start off this meeting by explaining Luffy's new powers. But, none of this information will make it to the ears of anyone outside of this room. Do not worry, we are all trustworthy, why these men are the commanders." Sabo nodded, but Ace was wearing a small frown. Many of the pirates looked surprised about the boy having powers. Those who already knew, like Marco, Izo and Thatch didn't seem surprised at all.

"The illusions we saw a few days ago, the one where the ship turned into a castle, as well as the mystery puppies," (Luffy smiled), "as well as the not so nice looking figures earlier today, were all conjured by Luffy."

Luffy raised his hand excitedly, and announced that he also made toys and bath bubbles. A few commanders chuckled, and Ace ruffled Luffy's hair. Jojo noticed there was one commander who did not seem to like Luffy's presence. She glared at him, but he didn't notice.

"Is there a way for him to stop?" the unhappy commander asked, rather shortly. Ace and Sabo glared at him, and Luffy looked confused. All he did was make puppies and toys and bubbles.

"Why?" he asked, not understanding what was bad about it. The commander looked at Luffy with disdain, an expression Luffy had never been given before. He didn't like this man.

"Because being unable to control a power like that is dangerous," he replied. Thatch smacked his arm. "Kingdew" was his name. They heard Thatch whisper, "He's four, Kingdew, ease up." Luffy had a wobbly lower lip. He didn't mean to do anything bad.

Ace put his hand on Luffy's head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Lu. Some people just can't handle something different," Ace said, loud enough for the human commanders to hear. "Some people are just small minded." Kingdew glared at the teen, who gave him a sneer. Nobody upsets his baby brother. _Nobody _and no one has any right to hurt an angel like Luffy, even just his feelings.

Luffy made a small, "Oh," as he didn't know what small minded was and he didn't want to ask because that human looked angry and Luffy didn't like angry people. Kingdew and Ace shared a stare that clearly showed neither liked the other.

"Son," Whitebeard said gruffly. "Calm yourself, this is meant to be a peaceful discussion." A few of the other commanders looked at their brother a bit irritably. Ace kept the cold look at the man, narrowing his eyes just barely as a threat to not upset Luffy. He slightly smirked when Kingdew was the first to look away.

"Anyways," Marco said loudly. "We don't know the extent of Luffy's abilities, so you should start trying to train him as soon as you can. Being on a ship where you don't have captains' duties and are not the only ones fighting against any enemies, starting on our ship might be the most productive place to train him. There is plenty of room if you need some alone spaces, and no one on this crew is weak, so you don't need to worry about Luffy's powers affecting anyone. Even if something unwanted does appear, we will be fine." Marco gave all of the Spades a reassuring look.

"Thank you commander," Sabo said with a slight bow. "We have been trying, but small steps. We'll make longer sessions for it after what happened recently." He kept his reply vague so it didn't give off anything negative to Luffy, who was looking at his small hands resting on the table.

Whitebeard spoke next. "Don't overdo anything. We don't want one step ahead and two steps back," he said. "Please do not worry about your safety being threatened here. You are all safe on this ship. I promise you that." Luffy grinned at him, earning a warm smile from the man across the table.

Marco spoke again, and added, "We're sailing as fast as possible to the next island to have your ship properly assessed. If something is wrong with it, you are welcome to stay here." No one noticed Marco's jaw clench when Ace's face went red. The Spades didn't notice, but the vampires in the room suddenly looked ready to burst into laughter. Marco looked at them all individually and gave them a menacing eye. No one said anything.

"Have a nice night, everyone," Whitebeard said in an amused voice. Luckily, Ace didn't notice the timing of his blush and the vampires' reactions. After the Spades left, the more polite ones giving bows (which did not include Ace, who still seemed irate with Kingdew), the vampires in the room burst into laughter.

Marco glared at them all. "Don't say a _word,"_ he threatened. Whitebeard chuckled deeply.

"Well, this is a surprise," he commented amusedly. Marco sighed and put his head in his hands. "I doubt he even notices it, son. Besides, these humans aren't around vampires regularly. They just aren't used to it yet," Whitebeard assured. Marco nodded in response with a sigh.

Many of the commanders were in the dark about what Whitebeard was talking about and what had Marco upset and the others amused.

"Mind letting us in on whatever is so funny?" Izo asked irritably.

"It's nothing," Marco insisted tiredly. "Just drop it, please." Those who weren't in on it looked frustrated and confused. Whitebeard sympathized with his son and told the other vampires to not say a word about what they all knew now. It was still hilarious for the captain, but he didn't want them to make Ace or Marco angry. Though, what a surprise it was. Ace, who fears vampires, seemed to have a crush on one of them.

Though, he was a human and they are susceptible to vampires just by being vampires, even if they don't know why. Though, it might not just be physical, with how Marco helped them out first and was kind to Luffy several times. Marco knew this might be the case as well, but he wasn't going to say anything first.

Though, to Whitebeard, age didn't matter when in love. But, that thought didn't usually include an over one hundred years age gap between both parties. Poor Ace. It was hard to say if it was wrong or not. Human and vampire partnerships often drew criticism, but it wasn't as if the vampire could de-age and go back in time to be nearer the age of their human partner. Vampires and humans alike had different views based on the situation and given circumstances.

They would just see what would happen next. After all, the Spades would still be with them for awhile. Hopefully, to the captain, indefinitely. Having youngsters aboard was a first in awhile and Whitebeard was enjoying being kept on his toes with the surprises the little one kept throwing at everyone. It left Whitebeard excited for more, knowing that they would all be fine regardless of what happened next.


	13. A Surprise Guest

**Kira494: Lol, thank you! I remember Slender Man, I used to attempt to play the first game and it freaked me out.**

**Passer-by: Wow thank you for the long comment! I try to make my young Luffy characters and fluff cute by not overly cute. Done a lot of baby Luffy fics over the years. Many of my stories are ASL Whitebeard. I try to keep them each distinct and not all the same even if the base is the same. AKA kids/younger ASL and Whitebeards. Though the relationship between them aren't always the same. One story I have Luffy hates the Whitebeards. I won't be adding anything or changing what's written in this one since I always finish my stories before posting because I'm not gonna be someone who just leaves the story hanging forever if I don't finish it. But thank you for your insight, and I was not offended.** **I hope you stick around even though it's not too mysterious. More a story of fluff and some lovely angst sprinkled on top.**

**Phew, just got back from my first day of my last semester! Teacher seems really nice. I finished a very long story that is currently being edited, so it will be out by next week probably. Maybe sooner. Anyways, sorry for the super long A/N at the top. Enjoy~**

"That guy! I hate him!" Ace hissed to Sabo as they all walked to the galley for food, Ace in a sour mood from the grumpy and rude commander. Sabo wasn't happy with it either, but he kept his anger cold and collected. Luffy was walking in a more subdued gait, head down and a deep frown plastered on his face. An expression that should never be worn by him.

"I'm not happy either, but you can't be so loud. Vampires are out right now, we don't want anyone knowing that you hate one of their leaders," Sabo reasoned. He smacked Ace's arm to stop him from ranting some more what Thatch entered the room from another doorway. Ace scowled but not at Thatch, who had scolded Kingdew (stupid name…). Thatch was one of the ones Ace liked the most, if he liked any of them.

When they reached the bar counter, Luffy climbed onto his usual seat. He was still looking sad. Ace and Sabo sat next to him. He was quiet, and didn't ask for food like he usually would. The boy then turned to Sabo, and asked sadly, "Sabo, am I bad?" Ace and Sabo both stiffened at the question. How could Luffy think he was bad? He was perfect, that damned commander!

"Luffy, don't worry about Kingdew. He's always been a stick in the mud," Thatch said from across the counter. "You didn't do anything wrong or bad, we just want to make sure nothing bad could happen." Luffy frowned at this.

"I wasn't alive back when Marco first got his fruit, but he'd accidentally set the original crew's ship on fire and it had burned to nothing, leaving the original members stranded on an island in the Grand Line. He's still here, he didn't mean to do anything wrong. It had been pure accident. They happen, but the best thing to do is to forgive and move on. No one would blame you if something out of control happened. Not even Kingdew, though he would definitely be grumpier than usual. So, don't worry too much about it," the cook finished, setting a steaming bowl of stew in front of each brother. Luffy seemed a bit more cheerful after that, but was still droopy.

He really missed his bedroom and home. Sure, he liked new and more people and vampires, but he did miss the little ship now. Were there others on the ship that would be mad at him about his powers? Should he not use them anymore? But the thought made him sad. He liked his powers, they were fun and cool! And they didn't even last that long, so what was the problem?

His brothers noticed his quietness and frowned, still irritated with Kingdew, no matter if he was like that with everyone. But, the story about Marco helped little. Marco had already been part of the crew. The longest member as far as the Spades knew. Of course they wouldn't kick him off for an accident, even if it was a huge one. Luffy wasn't part of the crew, just a temporary passenger.

Ace was thinking differently than Sabo, though. Sabo already knew whitebeard wanted to keep them, and based on what he had said and not said, he didn't feel any different than before Luffy projected a bad dream. And they didn't even know what the bad dream had been of. They couldn't ask with Luffy around, and they hadn't asked the boy about it yet. If Luffy wanted to talk about it, he would have brought it up himself.

The brothers would ask another time.

The rest of the night, Luffy was still pretty quiet, making Ace and Sabo worried. "Luffy, are you still upset over the commander?" Sabo asked gently after they were all done with their food.

Luffy shrugged. "Will my powers hurt people?" he asked quietly. Ace gently took him into his lap while the rest of the Spades and their captain looked at one another, not wanting to lie but also not wanting to upset the boy.

"Well, if they were used in the wrong way, it's possible," Sabo answered truthfully. Luffy looked back at his hands.

Then, with more determination than Ace or Sabo had ever heard, Luffy said, "I promise I'll learn how to use them good! You hafta help me, though," the vampire added. Everyone nodded with a smile. Luffy did what he set his mind to do, even if it ended up being trouble for others. However, this was necessary for the safety of the Spades and the Whitebeards, who were kind enough not to kick them off and leave them stranded once they found out Luffy might be a liability.

"I'm sure you can all do it," Thatch said kindly, leaning his forearms on the kitchen counter. He looked at Ace in slight puzzlement, still wondering why the vampire commanders and captain had reacted like that, and why Marco had been so flustered, something none of them had seen for years.

The Spades spent the night outside that night, on a more secluded part of the deck and had Luffy practice creating things, but they soon found themselves stumped, and unable to come up with a solution. How would they have Luffy practice not making anything while asleep? Would they just wake him up every time? They didn't know how to progress.

After a while of sitting there and trying to come up with some solution, Haruta walked over and asked how the training was going. The Spades were surprised to see this one talking to them. He wasn't one of the pirates that Ace and Sabo trusted, despite being nice so far. At least, after he knew the full story about why they had a child vampire.

"We're having trouble with something," Sabo answered politely, and honestly. Haruta asked what the problem was.

Luffy turned to him and questioned, "How I practice not doing it when sleeping?" Haruta could see why they were stuck with this.

"How about you just try to go to bed and think about not having anything happen?" It wasn't the best advice, but it wasn't like the Spades had any other ideas. Luffy cocked his head and turned to his brothers, wondering if that would work.

"Well, we can try that. We don't exactly have any other ideas at the moment," Sabo reasoned.

"Hey, Haru! I wanna make wings and fly like Marco," Luffy said suddenly. Sabo corrected his name politely and with a smile. Haruta smiled at the boy. It really was different interacting with a child after all these years of only men older than him.

"I'm sure you can do it," the commander said nicely, earning a toothy grin.

"Ace, Sabo let's practice that," Luffy announced. The rest of the night, before dinner for Luffy, they practiced making wings. The other Spade's played card games or cleaned and took care of their weapons, Sparky and Zeno the most.

-x-

"So… Ace, huh?" Haruta teased later that night. Marco glowered at him, hating that his fellow vampire commanders had all gone up to him and teased him in some way. "Well he is pretty cute for a human," the commander said with an amused grin.

"I told you not to say anything about it," Marco grumbled as he turned back to the log he was writing of the meeting they'd had and what they had all talked about after the Spades had left the room.

"C'mon, it's funny, though," Haruta taunted, thoroughly amused with Marco's irritation. "Why don't you talk to him about it?"

Marco scoffed. "And make him hate our guts? No thank you. We don't need him disliking more of us even more. Besides, he clearly doesn't like it. I can tell the other times it's happened. He hates it, and his brother teases him about the whole thing. He doesn't need more people taunting him about it."

"Hmm. Well, doesn't it feel nice to have someone like you, though?" Haruta asked, not dropping the topic anytime soon.

Marco took his glasses off with a sigh. He wouldn't be doing any paperwork while his brother purposely annoyed him to no end. "He's much too young and doesnt even like vampires in the first place," Marco reasoned. "Besides, he could just be reacting to my appearance and vampirism. Lots of humans grow flustered around vampires."

"Yeah, but as far as I've noticed he doesn't react like that to other vampires on the crew," Haruta pointed out. And he had a point. Ace was only reacting like this to Marco, none of the other vampires.

"Maybe it's because of how I've been with Luffy. He's just glad someone is looking out for the kid," Marco suggested. "Now can you get out so I can finish my report?" Haruta pouted at him.

"Fine. The sooner you're done with your paperwork, the sooner you can seduce Ace some more with your sexy haircut- ahaha!" Haruta shouted as he dodged a shoe thrown at his head. He ran out of the room laughing, leaving a seething Marco. Though, he couldn't bring himself to be angry with Ace. Kid couldn't control his human body like vampires could control theirs.

Another issue that Marco had was that he wasn't comfortable being in any relationship. It had been a very, very long time since he'd had any romance in his life, and he wasn't looking for any. Especially with a human, who would grow old and die before him. Ace clearly didn't want to be a vampire, which was fine and no one judged him for it, but even if Marco was looking for love, it would be preferably permanent.

But that didn't matter, as the bottom line was Ace was too young, and Marco wasn't looking. Plus, Ace was unhappy with how he was feeling. Marco wouldn't do anything to piss him off or offend him and cause him to never open up with any of them, which was what the commanders and many of the crew wanted.

-x-

The night, Luffy didn't have any nightmares, which was good. The Spades all went to bed at the same time, with one person taking "watch", and making sure no unwanted apparations would appear. If some did, they were to wake Luffy first and then Ace and Sabo. But, Jojo and then Zeno didn't need to wake anyone up, as it was uneventful.

In the dark, there was a couple minutes of something glowing floating around the room, changing shape and color, but it faded relatively quickly and Jojo had to wonder if she had been seeing things.

As long as there weren't any nightmares, it wasn't a big deal for dreams to manifest inside the room. There hadn't been such a massive dream like the first in the last couple days. They'd only been on the ship for a few, and almost immediately Luffy developed the powers. It was interesting and confusing at the same time. A strange coincidence.

-x-

Izo got a call on the den den mushi from Shanks, who was in the area, which was strange that both yonko crews were in Paradise. He wondered why Shanks was there. It was a weird thing they had in common. He requested meeting up with the crew and sharing some good sake Shanks had gotten from the East Blue. Considering they had a crew from the East Blue with them at the time, it was a strange coincidence.

Shanks wasn't a bad guy, even if he annoyed some of the crew (Marco), so Izo accepted the offer, knowing that Shanks was almost always welcomed. Pops was asleep, as it was during the day, so Shanks always came at night when he could interact outside with the vampire yonko. Whitebeard was the only vampire in the yonko or warlord statuses.

When Izo found and told Marco, he looked uncomfortable. "What do we do about the Spades?" Marco wondered. Izo hadn't even thought of that. And, even if they hid the small crew during the visit, their ship was not easy to miss at all. And Shanks, the nosy guy he was, would no doubt pester them about the reason they were towing another ship.

"As long as he doesn't hear about Luffy, it should be fine right?" Izo replied. Marco "hum"ed before saying that they would just have to see. But keeping Luffy away would be the best option.

Shanks would be there in a few hours, when it was night time. When the sun set, Marco headed to the captain's room to inform him about their approaching guest, and also asked what they should do about the Spades. Mostly about Luffy. Shanks might react strongly to seeing a child vampire and assuming he had been changed at his age like most of them had assumed at first.

"Even if Luffy does pop out on deck, I doubt anything negative will happen if we explain briefly about his situation. However, we should ask Ace and Sabo what they want to do about it. They should all be getting up around now," Whitebeard said. "Were there any aparations today?"

Marco leaned against the bedroom wall and said, "Actually, there was nothing."

"Good."

"People are still asking what has been going on, even if we've all told them it's nothing to worry about," Marco added. Many stuck with the thought of the ship being haunted. But no one had made the link between the weird happenings right after the Spades cam aboard.

"Well, we're not going to go into details yet. Maybe after Luffy and the rest get to know more of us better, then we'll say something. But, we can't claim to not know what the cause of all of the illusions are. Or all the puppies Luffy had made," Whitebeard said. Marco nodded, agreeing with that. Whitebeard was planning on keeping these kind people, and he didn't want anyone wishing they would leave before the captain and commanders got them to agree to stay.

"So, what are you going to do about Ace?" Whitebeard asked with an amused grin. Marco scowled at him. Now, everyone who knew about the damn one second of Ace blushing had pestered or teased him. It would be so much worse if Thatch or Izo found out. Marco would never live it down and those fools would probably start matchmaking. Well, then Marco could retaliate with Thatch about his crush on Jojo, which everyone could see.

"I don't know. Just ignore it for now. He doesn't like it and I'm not going to bring it up. After all, he doesn't know that the full vampires can tell," Marco answered honestly. He never lied to Pops, but he sometimes did hide things. Like his theory that Ace killed his mother to save Luffy.

"But how do you feel about it?" Whitebeard pressed.

"He's too young. And I'm not interested to be honest. It's been too long since I was with someone, and I have no desire to be again." Whitebeard nodded, knowing what Marco was referencing to. And he didn't admit another reason he didn't want to have anything with Ace was because the kid was a human.

Marco had no issue with most humans, and tons of his brothers were humans, but he wouldn't be in a relationship with one. He didn't want to risk having things go bad because of differences between them.

They both left to head to the galley, where both of them could sense Luffy, who had a different feeling than both full vampires and humans. A very unique feeling that they hadn't encountered before. No one had encountered before.

-x-

Luffy scarfed down pancakes, wondering why so many humans were still up and about. Many times, some were getting ready for bed. Thatch was talking with Sabo about Luffy's candies and if he could give a few to other vampires to see if they liked them. Sabo turned to Luffy and asked him, since they were his candies.

"'Kay," was his reply through a mouth full of syrupy pancakes.

Sabo pat his head and praised him for sharing with others. Luffy beamed and giggled, mouth finally not full. "Deuce says sharing is careful." Thatch chuckled.

"You mean 'sharing is caring'?" he asked.

"Yeah, that!" Luffy exclaimed before starting on another pancake. Ace was not in as good a mood as his brothers. The Spades were doing various things, either eating or bathing or Aggie 68 working with the nurses again. They liked him very much, which his captains were proud of. They really collected a good group of people.

But, despite that, Ace was sour and had a pinched face on. He noticed that many of the commanders were looking at him and chuckling. He felt like punching them, but it would do nothing to the vampires and he didn't want to set a bad example in front of impressionable Lu. Sabo noticed of course, but Luffy didn't and the brothers didn't want to bring attention to it for Luffy would probably make a big deal out of it, worried for his brother.

After the three brothers were finished with pancakes, bacon and sausage, Marco and Whitebeard entered and made a b-line straight to the brothers. Sabo turned around in the stool at the bar counter, Luffy moving to sit in his lap and wondering why Marco and the captain were coming to see them. Luffy was told he didn't make any bad things.

"Hello commander, Whitebeard," Sabo said politely, like usual. "Is something wrong?" Marco shook his head and made sure not to make eye contact with Ace, who was doing the same. He hated the blushing and wouldn't let Marco, of all people, see.

"There's nothing wrong, we just wanted to inform you that another yonko is approaching the ship for a visit to see Pops. We're sure he wouldn't be upset about Luffy if he knows the brief truth, but that's up to you three to decide, whether you want Luffy known to another crew or not," Marco explained.

Ace and Sabo were wary, not particularly wanting another strong crew to know of Luffy, but said boy thrust his hand up in the air. "I wanna see more peoples!" he declared loudly. It brought some attention to the three from the others in the galley, but it wasn't negative.

"I am sure he'd be glad to meet you, Luffy. After all, we pirates don't come across kids much," Whitebeard said after a hearty chuckle. "Ace, Sabo, we're sure he will be nice about the whole thing. I think Shanks would be perfectly fine with him. And even if he wasn't, there are enough of us to stop him from doing anything negative." The Whitebeards all knew Shanks would never do such a dishonorable thing. Luffy was very likable, even if he was a full vampire.

"Pleeasssee?" Luffy asked, puppy-dog eyes wide as can be. "I wanna meet him!" Ace and Sabo couldn't deny him; it was impossible.

"Fine," both Ace and Sabo sighed. Luffy beamed, showing his very slightly pointed canines. "Does he have any vampires on his crew?" Sabo asked the pirates. Marco shook his head and said that the Whitebeards were the only yonko crew to have vampires in it. Other ships just didn't have enough members to live the way that these pirates did.

After some more talking and Luffy telling Marco his plan to be better with his powers, (It was a simple, "I'ma try hard") the pirates with haki felt the ship approach, and left the room to go outside on the dark deck and greet the fellow yonko. Luffy held the hands of both of his brothers, having trouble seeing through the crowd of legs in front of him.

The three pushed forward a bit until they were nearer to the front. The commanders were all on one side of the ship next to Whitebeard, who was now sitting in his massive chair. Luffy peered to the side to try and see the other ship, and looked amazed with it. It looked so cool! And was bigger than his home ship.

The man that Ace and Sabo assumed was Shanks came aboard, when people started collapsing. Luffy was alarmed and looked around. Soon, everyone but the commanders and a few vampire pirates were unconscious. Only a small handful were still awake, including the three brothers, Deuce and Jojo. They all looked quite shocked and alarmed, never having heard of haki like this.

"Damn it, Red Hair, stop doing that!" Haruta shouted. The commanders were all surprised to see who was still standing from the Spades. Mostly shocked that little Luffy was still awake. "What happened?!" he asked, looking around in shock and worry.

The boy gained Shanks's attention. He looked at Luffy for a moment before clicking that Luffy had red eyes. He glanced at Whitebeard in confusion, setting down the massive bottle of sake. He clearly didn't think that Whitebeard would do something so heinous as changing a child. "Does this have anything to do with the ship you are towing?" he asked in curiosity.

"Yes, these are the Spades. We're giving them a ride to the next place they can get their ship fixed up at. And before you ask, Luffy is not a full vampire," Whitebeard explained.

"Oh?" Shanks asked in interest, looking at the little boy. He did feel different to those with haki, like Shanks had, so it made sense that he believed the man.

"Certain circumstances caused him to be born part vampire," Whitebeard said, and didn't explain any further. Shanks accepted this just fine with a grin at the boy.

He walked towards the still standing Spades, and crouched in front of Luffy. "Don't worry Luffy, I just put them to sleep. It's all good," Shanks said in a very friendly voice. Luffy looked relieved that they weren't all sick.

Suddenly, he asked, "Hey, mister, wanna see a magic trick?" Luffy was grinning, and when Shanks said "sure", Luffy took his hands from his big brothers' and cupped his hand together before holding it up to Shanks and releasing a butterfly that flew away into the darkness.

The yonko looked very interested. "That was a very cool magic trick, Luffy," Shanks replied with a warm smile. Since it was mostly those who already knew Luffy's powers, only a few vampire pirates looked very confused. They said nothing when Marco gave each of them a look. "I'm gonna go talk to captain Whitebeard now," Shanks told the little vampire boy.

When he walked away, they all heard Luffy ask his brothers if his trick was cool. "It was very cool, Lu," Sabo replied and ruffled Luffy's hair. "Want to go and practice? I think Shanks-san will start drinking with the captain."

"Kay," Luffy said happily, gripping Ace's hand again as Sabo, Jojo and Deuce slung their other members over their shoulders and walked to the back deck to practice with Luffy. Everyone heard their conversation fade the further away they got.


	14. Being Honest

**Tinajp: Thanks! Not much Shanks and Luffy, though.**

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**HOLY CRAP THIS IS A LONG CHAPTER. I guess a reward for me being a day late! One of my favorite chapters because of things that happen between Marco and Ace. What a good guy Marco is! Enjoy~**

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"Well, those are some interesting kids," Shanks said in good nature as he shared sake with the captain while the commanders talked to each other about how surprised they were that five of the nine Spades had stayed awake even after the burst of conqueror's haki. Something only very strong and competent people could do.

They were mostly shocked about Luffy and Jojo. Ace and Sabo were both clearly strong, and Deuce also had a strong presence. Jojo was a surprise as she was the cook and a woman. Thatch had hearts in his eyes about, "She's so cool and strong", making his brothers chuckle.

"So, when are they joining your crew?" the red haired pirate asked. Whitebeard didn't let people onto his ship unless he planned they were going to stay. The vampire captain laughed, and said, "Hopefully soon."

Shanks grinned. "A child vampire huh? Did he eat a devil fruit?" Shanks asked. There was no other way he could see having a power like that. He, surprising everyone, didn't ask about Luffy's heritage. They had all expected him to ask that first.

"No, we still don't know the mystery behind his illusions." Whitebeard then explained the shenanigans that had happened lately, starting with the first dream and ending with the butterfly. Shanks laughed about the time puppies ran around the ship and confused everyone, making messes.

"So, what are you doing in Paradise?" Marco asked, sitting on the railing cross legged. "And no, I'm not joining your crew."

"We just got a little bored in the New World and took a vacation to the East Blue," Shanks replied. "Visited many of the islands, came across a few oddballs out there. Like the island that has a ban on all vampires entering. Quite hostile. It was a surprise to us," the man explained after taking a sip of his sake.

"Hey, that's the island that Ace, Luffy and Sabo grew up on," Haruta said in interest. "They've been sailing around East Blue for a couple years," the vampire elaborated.

"I definitely wouldn't want to live there," Shanks said. "Even though I'm not a vampire. We didn't land, as outsiders we're not welcome, as we could be harboring a vampire to pollute the island. It was not a nice place. No wonder those kids left." The commanders frowned, not having really thought about what it must have been like to live there while hiding a vampire from everyone. No one knew the specifics of the boys' pasts, but it didn't sound the best.

Whitebeard chuckled. "Well, we'll give them a much better home here than there. They have no family, but hopefully we can change that. Eventually." Whitebeard didn't sound in the least bit doubtful that the stubborn Ace and Sabo would someday accept being with them permanently.

The smaller yonko then questioned how they met the Spades. And if they were pirates, since there was no Jolly Roger on their ship that he could see in the moonlight. "They accidentally ended up in the Grand Line, and came into contact with some large dolphins that destroyed their rudder.

"They were going hungry and running out of resources. Ace used his fire powers to make an SOS signal. Marco went and decided to help them and voila, now they're on our ship for the time being."

The two captains talked for awhile, drinking all of the sake Shank had brought. The Red Haired crew were fun to drink with with the other commanders, and soon everyone was drunk. Those who had been knocked out had awoken and were irritated that that happened every time Shanks came to visit. It was annoying, both that Shanks found it fun to do so and that they couldn't handle it and felt weak.

When Izo told some of the pirates that a group of the Spades had stayed awake, it garnered both respect and irritation that some kids and a _woman _could stay conscious and they couldn't. Haruta teased them all, causing many to leave the deck and give Shanks a glare. He just chuckled at it.

"Those kids are strong," Jozu said out of the blue. They could all hear Luffy's laughter, the vampires especially, coming from the back deck, where the Spades usually spent their time together when not in their room.

"Yeah, I'm surprised about Ace and Sabo mostly," Blenheim said.

"You aren't surprised about Luffy?" Vista asked in surprise.

"Nah. He already has pretty strong feeling haki, so I'm not surprised that he stayed awake," Blenheim replied. "I think that Luffy will grow to be extremely powerful if taught well. After all, his own dream took over the entire ship and surrounding area. And he's a child, imagine what he can do when he grows older and more experienced. Hope they stick around so I can witness it." He took a large swig of his own booze, not the one that Shanks had brought.

Marco listened curiously to his brothers talk about the Spades and Luffy. They might have just gained quite a bit of respect by their ability to hold up against a yonko's haki. The twins, Saber and Aggie 68 had been the ones to pass out. Aggie 68 was too big to carry so he had been left by the stairs and woke up thoroughly confused.

Though, when Marco told him what had happened, the commanders were surprised to see he wasn't angry about both being knocked out and being left behind. He just asked where his crew had gone, and left in the direction he was given.

The vampire commanders looked up when they heard lots of pitter patters coming from the far deck, and weren't surprised to see Luffy's purple puppies had made a second appearance. Whitebeard laughed as Shanks looked thoroughly amused with the swarm that came jumping off the steps and barreling down the deck. He was incredibly drunk by now, and laughed heartily as pirates were confused and annoyed.

Some of them branched off to go annoy others or run around loudly. "That kid sure keeps you on your toes, it seems," Shanks joked. A few of the puppies ran into the crowd of commanders, and there was one very visibly angry. Kingdew was always a stick in the mud, but Shanks laughed at his face, pointing at him childishly and irritating the commander even further.

Shanks was interested to touch the nearest puppy and feel that it was almost between being solid and not there. Suddenly he wished Luffy was on _his _ship because he was immensely curious about how things would end up with such a powerful child with incredible potential. The little animals disappeared about ten minutes after their initial appearance, fading away without a sound.

-x-

"I hear Whitebeard saying nice stuff about us," Luffy said happily as he sat in Ace's lap, making more butterflies fly away from his hands. "He says we are strong and good peoples." The others blushed a little bit. Though those that had woken up after being put to sleep looked a bit embarrassed that they had been knocked out in front of everyone, even if the majority of others had been rendered unconscious as well.

"That's nice," Sabo said lightheartedly. The group talked and played with Luffy as he made variations of butterflies that eventually turned into the purple puppies again. The Spades didn't react much to them other than to chuckle at the sounds of pirates shouting about the puppies being back.

They didn't say anything about it, but those of the Spades who had been awake worried about Luffy's impromptu magic trick. Marco had given the others who had been awake and weren't in on the loop a look that said not to tell the others.

Ace glared at a group of people that had become curious about the Spades and the mysterious butterfly, who came to see what they were doing. The sailors very much didn't like having so many people awake at night. Though, they were all slowly trickling inside to go to bed, as it was clear there would be no fight between the two yonkos.

"Go away," Ace said rudely. The pirates frowned, but Luffy had stopped making the butterflies at the moment. By the time the boy created a swarm of puppies again, many were inside and no longer spying or trying to spy on the group.

Aggie 68 eventually woke up, after the others had, and wasn't mad that they had left him on the other part of the deck. He was very large after all, and only a few had stayed awake out of them. When he approached his crew, they explained to him what had happened. He sat down and talked with his small family.

The night went by relatively quickly, and when it was Luffy's dinner time, and therefore all of the Spades' dinner times, Shanks was leaving. The commanders were all still awake, and the Spades could tell that Shanks was incredibly drunk. When he turned to see the small crew of guests, he waved drunkenly and said, "I'll meet ya again sometime!" and his first mate had to help him onto their ship that was docked next to the Moby Dick.

"Kay!" Luffy shouted back, waving enthusiastically. The pirates who were still awake smiled. They knew Pops liked hearing that. Did Luffy want to stay longer, or was he just saying that? Ace looked uncomfortable with the interaction, while Sabo was smiling lightly.

Thatch was still conscious, though he was incredibly tipsy, and asked Luffy for the blood candies for the crew to try when he woke up the next day. Luffy agreed and asked the man for dinner. His tummy growled loudly. The cook smiled and chuckled before he told Luffy that their crew would need leftovers tonight. He had known he would become drunk and wouldn't be able to cook for the Spades, so he'd made plenty of food before Shanks came and before the Spades had woken up, which was all now in one of the refrigerators in the large kitchen.

Luffy had no problem with this and went running inside, followed closely by his brothers and leisurely the rest of the crew. Luffy ran straight for the galley and started opening all of the fridges to find that night's dinner. He couldn't read, so he was unable to read what each fridge held on a note held in place by a magnet.

Sabo picked him up and plopped him down on his stool while Ace got out the left overs meant for the little crew, and served everyone, including himself. "So, you five were the ones to stay awake?" Aggie 68 asked curiously, looking at those who had been able to continue being conscious even after the powerful pirate had come aboard.

"Yeah. Us three, Deuce and Jojo," Sabo replied.

"Everyone was surprised. I heard them," Luffy said between mouthfuls of yummy stir fry. "I like Whitebeards a lot." He hadn't heard everything that the two captains had talked about, as he had become distracted through much of the conversation with talking and making things. Everyone but the boy noticed the fearful look on Ace before it disappeared. It made them all sad. Especially Sabo. He hadn't seen Ace this insecure in a while.

"But do you miss our ship?" Ace asked. Luffy nodded.

"I like the big space but I miss home, too," the boy answered. He kicked his feet a bit randomly for a few seconds before stopping. "I like Shanks. He looks fun," Luffy added.

Sabo smiled. "He sure was impressed with your magic trick. But no more tricks in front of anyone but us or the commanders, okay?" Luffy knew he must have a good reason, and trusted his brother.

"Kay," Luffy said with a smile.

-x-

The next day, all of the humans were awake fairly early as some of the crew that had gone on a mission were coming back. The vivre card was very helpful for finding their way back to the main ship. Since there was no commander for division two at the moment, Marco was over them as leader.

Teach was the one who lead the group, the one in command while away from home. He had been one of the longest members on the crew that wasn't a vampire. None of those who went on the mission were vampires, as it was a small group and the ship didn't have a cabin very big for the vampires to stay in during the day.

The big man was a candidate for the second division commander, but had declined for some reason. When the smallish ship came into view, very tiny compared to the Moby and even smaller than the Spade's ship, some of the humans on the crew cheered at the side of the ship, glad to see their brothers again and recount all of the strange things that had been happening while they were gone. Those who had still been awake when Luffy made the butterfly were instructed to not say anything about it to anyone. By the captain, which meant it was against the captain's orders if someone did mention it.

Marco lowered the rope ladder down so that the returning pirates could board the ship. There were fifteen of them, and they were all happy to be back. They would report their mission before going into detail about the ship they were towing and that had no doubt been noticed. It was daytime after all.

"What's with-?" Teach began, but Marco cut him off.

"Give your report before I go into specifics about the ship we're towing. Pops is awake today since you're all back," Marco said, and lead Teach and the others who went on the mission into the ship. The human pirates gave them high fives or congratulated them for coming back from the mission with no injuries to be seen.

Teach and the others followed Marco into the galley, where the captain was playing chess against Jozu. Whitebeard was winning by far, and laughed at Jozu's frustration. It was a funny sight with the large captain using the very small chess pieces. He looked up when he sensed and heard Marco and many coming behind him.

"Pops! Good to see you!" Teach called in a jovial tone. Whitebeard laughed and ask how his sons were. "The mission went easily, ended up destroying a marine base, but what can you do?"

"Gurarara, glad to hear that." Marco sat at the table and put his glasses on to write down when Teach was saying about the mission. He didn't _need _the glasses, but it was a habit he'd had since being a human. It felt right to wear glasses when writing or reading, even if the lenses were just clear. It was a quirk his brothers teased him about often.

"So," Teach started after the report was finished. "What's with the ship?"

"We have some guests aboard. They were stranded, so we're taking them someplace their ship can be fixed up," Marco explained. "One of them is a part human, part vampire four year old. His name is Luffy and he sails with his brothers and their crew."

"A child vampire?!" one of the pirates who went on the mission exclaimed.

"_Part _vampire. He has special circumstances, and we know they're telling the truth. Luffy breathes, his heart beats, and he can eat human food while also needing a bit of blood every week. And if you see any apparitions or strange events, ignore them as best as you can and not try to figure out what they are," Marco said, unintentionally sounding very ominous.

Teach and the others just looked confused or shocked. Then there was some shouting coming from outside, and Marco shot up and ran to the deck, expecting some sort of dream from Luffy, and just hoping it wasn't a nightmare. Pops couldn't go outside so he waited for Marco to come back and tell him.

Teach and the pirates who had just returned followed Marco and they all stood shocked as giant butterflies dominated the sky and some were landed on the railing or yardarms. Marco went up to the nearest one fearlessly and reached a hand out. Like the puppies from the previous night, the butterflies felt that strange inbetween on being solid and not.

They were only present for maybe ten minutes before fading into nothing soundlessly. "Alright, everyone, back to work," Marco called. Some of the crew had started to just go along with whatever kept happening as they knew that the commanders and captain knew about it and felt that things were fine even with all the strange events happening for the last week or so.

Marco walked back inside and to the galley, where the captain and Jozu had resumed their chess game. "What was it this time?" Whitebeard asked lightheartedly.

"Just some giant butterflies. Harmless, but they're gone now," Marco answered. Whitebeard laughed.

"He sure does keep us on our toes," the captain said with a grin. Jozu then said, "Check mate," surprising his father, who looked baffled. Marco chuckled while Jozu grinned, having made a complete turn around just in the time Marco had left to go see what everyone was shouting about.

-x-

It was late afternoon when the first Spade woke up, who was Jojo. All of the others were asleep, and Zeno had been the one to take watch, and apparently nothing had shown up inside the bedroom. If there had been, he would have woken Luffy up to stop it.

She quietly left the room, closing the door gently and smiling at the three brothers, who were honestly so cute when they slept. She'd never say that to Ace or Sabo, or she'd have greatly offended the freckled-one's pride, but she could think it.

There were some mumbling about her while she headed to the galley, and she picked out the words "strong" and "_woman". _It just made her scoff and give those a look of "I'm better than you", because why not? They were just upset that she and some kids were able to last under a yonko's haki and they couldn't.

When she got to the galley, she saw Thatch and Izo at the kitchen bar, Thatch on one side and Izo sitting at the bar counter, talking. When the two pirates noticed her coming over, she didn't miss the look Izo gave to his friend. No one, and she means _no one _had missed the signals Thatch gave off. It flattered and entertained Jojo and from the looks of it, the rest of the crew.

"Hi, Jojo," Thatch said with tinted cheeks. Jojo held in a chuckle.

"Good afternoon, Thatch. So, Luffy is alright with the other vampires trying out his candies. I wrote you the ingredients and how to make them," Jojo said, pulling out a piece of paper with all the necessities. How much of what was needed, and how different blood types tasted different to Luffy in the candies. Thatch took it from her and saw how thorough the list was.

There were even side notes, going into great detail about the best way to go about the problems that come up when boiling caramelized blood. How to make sure it doesn't damage the pot. Thatch thanked her and opened the bag of blood candy. They looked like regular strawberry hard candy. They didn't smell the best to Thatch, but he was a human, so maybe they smelled better to vampires.

Well, the vampires would be coming out soon, so they could try them out and see if it was worth it for Thatch to make some himself. "So, Jojo," Izo began. "I didn't know how strong you were. You held up under Red Hair's haki. Not just anyone can do that."

Jojo shrugged. "I was put through extensive military training as a child. It included haki," she added. "The marines never sounded like my kind of career, so I ran away and met Ace and the others and decided to sail with them after Ace and Sabo saved the island I was living on." The two pirates looked surprised, and Vista came over to listen to the story he heard from the table.

"They saved your island?" Izo asked in surprise.

"Yeah. It was in the East Blue, so there weren't too many fighters strong enough on the island. Sabo ended up staying on the little ship with Luffy, while Ace went inland and killed the tyrant pirate who had decided it would be his new kingdom. Ace and Sabo may seem selfish in some way, only seeming to care about Luffy, but that's not true," Jojo said. "They're all really good people."

Izo and Thatch smiled. "How old were they when you met them?" Thatch questioned.

"They were both almost 17," she answered. When they looked surprised at the age that they had defeated some strong enemy at, Jojo added, "They've been strong since they first started sailing. don't really know anything specific about their lives before taking to the sea, but I assume they exercised and trained a lot."

Thatch then served Jojo an early meal than when the Spades usually ate with Luffy, but Jojo was hungry. She talked with Thatch and Izo for awhile until she and the other commanders knew Luffy was up and everyone was coming. He was noisy in the hallway, laughing loudly.

When the three brothers entered the galley, they were swinging Luffy by his hands between the older two. Luffy was clearly enjoying it very much, giggling helplessly with a bright grin, showing his small teeth.

Sabo and Ace set him down and he ran to the bar counter and climbed up onto the chair. "Jojo!" he said loudly. "Where were you?" The woman ruffled Luffy's fluffy hair with a smile.

"I woke up before everyone and came to get some food. Thatch is gonna let the other vampires taste your yummy candies tonight. It's very nice that you're sharing with others," she praised. Luffy smiled. Jojo hadn't been able to spend too much time with Luffy and both older brothers back on their home ship, as the sleep schedule was much different. It was nice being able to spend some time with everyone at the same time.

"I hope they like them. They are yummy," Luffy said. "Jojo makes yummy food," he added. Thatch served all of the Spades once they were seated. They all dug in, and Jojo became a bit irritated that she hadn't been able to cook for her crew in awhile. It made her feel somewhat useless to be honest.

"Thatch, may I cook or help you cook their dinner?" she asked politely. Thatch smiled shyly and his face turned red, making Vista and Izo chuckle.

"Sure. I don't know what to make, though. I mean, together, or, well you could just cook the food if you want." Luffy then decided to comment on Thatch's clear behavior.

He took a big mouthful of the food and said, "Thatch face turns red with Jojo like Ace does with Marco." Everyone froze for a second, Luffy oblivious that what he had said would upset someone. That someone was Ace, whose face turned a brilliant red. He scowled, and looked extremely embarrassed. When he got up and fled the room, Luffy was shocked. "Where's Ace going?" he asked in worry. He stared at the place Ace left, before figuring that he wasn't going to come back.

Sabo sighed. "Ace needs some alone time." It clicked for Luffy that he had done something bad and upset Ace, though he didn't know what it was about about what he'd said. He started crying, which turned into wailing.

As Luffy hadn't been this upset since his powers manifested, something new happened. Hundreds of small furry animals of all sizes and appearances appeared in the room and all rushed towards Luffy, jumping on him and rubbing against him for comfort. The Spades and Izo and Vista were pushed away from the sheer amount of creatures coming to comfort Luffy. It didn't help, just alarmed everyone else in the room, which was full of humans and some vampires waking up at their own pace.

"Lu, it's okay, Lu," Sabo said, trying to get to him through the animals, who were particularly solid at the moment. Sabo got close enough and snatched Luffy up from his chair, carrying him off to where Ace had ran to. The animals followed after Sabo, sounding angry that he took Luffy away from them. Luffy's creations had usually just been happy, but it seemed they were so detailed that they had emotions. Not just live puppets that moved around.

"C'mon Lu, it's okay, I'm gonna take you to Ace," Sabo said, trying not to step on the bunnies and mice that were underfoot, slowing him down before he was knocked to the ground by a puppy jumping on his back. It was causing quite a commotion. Deuce ran past them to get to Ace faster, since Sabo wouldn't be taking Luffy anywhere. Damn, Ace! He'll be even more upset knowing he was the reason for Luffy's breakdown.

-x-

Ace sprinted out of the galley, face red and absolutely _humiliated. _He knew Sabo had already noticed the blushing, but he didn't know Luffy had. He knew that Luffy didn't mean to upset Ace, but he had said it in front of other commanders, and Thatch was one of them. What if they told Marco, and Marco thought he was disgusting and stopped spending time with Luffy?

For some reason, that sounded really bad to him. He did like Marco and how nice he was to Luffy, so having him ignore them would upset him _and _Luffy. He had already run far enough to not hear the commotion Luffy was making. He sprinted down the hall, pushing past pirates, humans and vampires alike, out to the deck.

Ace was not happy about who he saw outside, right next to the door. Marco. What bad timing. "Ace? Whoa, what's wrong?" the phoenix asked. Ace didn't make eye contact, and just said, "It's nothing," and quickly walked past him. Marco looked worried, but felt going after him would be a problem. But then Deuce sprinted past him and onto the deck, shouting for Ace to stop.

Ace was at the railing, for the first time bummed he was on a ship and couldn't run away for too long. Deuce approached from behind. "Ace, Luffy didn't mean to upset you. You know he didn't."

Ace glared at the dark horizon, the sea reflecting the starry sky. "I know that," he said in a hard voice. "I'm just embarrassed."

Deuce sighed and walked next to him. "Why don't you go see Luffy? He'll make you feel better. And he's very upset and his powers are going all over the place. I think there is no more transparency about the cause of all the strange happenings." Ace looked up in shock, suddenly feeling terribly ashamed and worried. To make things worse, he then collapsed unconscious.

Marco hadn't gone back inside and could hear when Ace and Deuce said clearly, even though he wasn't trying. Then, Ace collapsed. Must have been a sleep-attack triggered by strong emotions. Marco ran over and tried to get Ace to wake up. "Marco, maybe you shouldn't be the one to be here when he wakes up," Deuce said politely, not knowing Marco already knew Ace's feelings.

"Then you stay with him, I'll go get Sabo and Luffy," Marco said. He could hear Luffy crying and the commotion around him. He would just worry Luffy more, but Ace should wake up to his beloved brothers.

Luffy was curled in a ball, crying and surrounded by cute and fluffy creatures. Marco stepped through them, surprised by how solid these ones felt, and crouched in front of Luffy. "Luffy, Ace fell asleep. I think he'd want to see you when he wakes up." Luffy sniffled.

"Ace i-is mad a-at me," Luffy cried. The little animals reached their time limit and disappeared. Sabo moved it to pick the boy up, his face puffy and blotchy red. Marco gave looks to the pirates that had gathered to watch whatever was making so much noise, and then they promptly left the vicinity.

"C'mon, let's go help Ace. I don't think he's mad at you, Luffy," Sabo said. Marco clearly wanted to know what had happened, but Sabo didn't tell him anything, just swiftly walked outside to Ace with a still crying Luffy.

When they saw Deuce cradling Ace's head in his lap, completely passed out, Luffy jumped out of Sabo's arms and ran forward. He shook Ace to wake him up, but the sleep attack was still in effect. Sabo arrived and held Ace's hand. Poor Ace will now be both embarrassed about the Marco incident, and now passing out.

Aggie 68 had told the brothers that strong emotions would trigger sleep attacks, so Sabo assumed Ace had felt guilty over making Luffy upset. Not that the boy would blame Ace for it. Luffy put his face in Ace's when he started to stir and finally woke up to see Luffy, face puffy and bright red, cheeks still wet.

He sat up slowly and hugged Luffy tightly, hating that he was the one to upset his precious brother. "I'm sorry Ace! I didn't mean to make you mad!" Luffy cried. Ace rubbed his back and cradled him in his arms.

"I'm not mad at you. You didn't mean to make me upset and I shouldn't have left you like that. I'm the one who should be sorry. And now everyone knows too. It's all my fault, I'm so sorry," Ace said desperately, feeling his own tears in his eyes. He hated himself for making Luffy cry and think that Ace didn't like him anymore.

"I won't say anything about Thatch or Marco again," Luffy swore, but that wasn't what Ace wanted. He didn't want Luffy to avoid Marco and Thatch at all.

"How about we just don't say anything about me blushing? We can talk about Thatch and Marco about other things if you want," Ace said, slowly calming both he and Luffy down. "I promise I'm not angry with you, and I'm sorry I ran off."

"'Kay," Luffy whispered, hugging Ace so tight that it would have been uncomfortable if Ace wasn't a logia. "Am I in trouble?" Luffy asked quietly.

"Why do you ask that?" Sabo asked, wondering why Luffy would feel he was in trouble after Ace just made up with him. Luffy looked down in shame.

"Everyone saw my power. I made lots of stuff, but I didn't mean to," Luffy explained quietly. Like saying it quietly will make it so it never happened. Sabo gently ran his hand through Luffy's hair.

"They were going to find out soon, anyways. Maybe them knowing will be good? They won't be afraid or think the ship is haunted anymore. But Luffy, you went out of control, but none of your creations harmed anyone. I think that should be the main focus. Even when you weren't in control, all you wanted was for something to comfort you," Sabo said. "And if people are upset, well, they'll be upset and we can't do anything about that." Sabo made sure to be open and honest about the whole thing. Lying or trying to lessen the impact of what happened would probably just make things worse in the long run.

"It'll be okay, Lu. The captain is fine with it, and he makes the decisions around here. Besides, I think he really likes us. don't worry," Sabo insisted.

-x-

"What the hell happened?" Marco demanded of Izo and Thatch, who were in between laughing and frowning. "Why were Ace and Luffy so upset?" His two brothers slyly grinned at him. Something happened between Ace and Luffy, both of them were clearly upset, so why were Thatch and Izo grinning like idiots?

Thatch chuckled as he got a glass of blood for Marco and the vampires who were coming to dinner. He put out the pitchers for each type of blood and the glass cups for them to use. Thatch waited for the others to disperse before saying, "It appears Ace has feelings for someone and Luffy is more observant than he appears," Thatch said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Marco, who frowned at him. So, it was about Ace's crush on him. He felt bad that he ended up being the one Ace probably wanted to see _least. _

"Go into detail, please," Marco asked Izo, turning away from Thatch's shit eating grin.

"Well, Thatch was being an obvious idiot who's in love, and Luffy compared Thatch's blush for Jojo to Ace's blush for _you. _Ace fled the scene and Luffy felt he had upset his brother badly. He started crying and his powers seemed to go out of control a bit, and hundreds of fluffy animals just glopmed him." Marco sighed. Of all of the people he _didn't _want to know about Ace's feelings, it was these two.

"Hey, wait," Thatch suddenly said. "That's why everyone laughed in the meeting! Ace did something fun-" Marco cut him off, smacking his hand in front of Thatch's mouth with force.

Marco glared at him darkly, a look he rarely ever wore, and especially at his family. "Do not make this worse for him," he grumbled threateningly. "He doesn't need others to give him shit over something he can't control." Thatch and Izo looked shocked, but both nodded. They didn't want to hurt Ace or embarrass him more than he clearly already was.

The phoenix left the two stunned pirate commanders and made a beeline for Pops, snatching a handful of blood candies from the glass bowl on the counter that was full of them. Marco didn't need to tell the captain what had happened, as he heard Marco's conversation easily. Marco popped one of the candies into his mouth as he sat across from the man. They weren't that bad, actually. A bit too sweet for his taste, but he could see why a child would enjoy them.

Whitebeard took the offered candy and tried it himself. Other vampires in the room were talking about how good the candies tasted, and Marco could hear Thatch gushing about how amazing Jojo was to come up with the idea of blood candies. God, he was so smitten with the female cook. And Jojo seemed to find it amusing and wasn't mean about it.

He wished he could be the same for Ace, but Thatch was unashamed with his adoration of Jojo. If Ace had similar feelings for Marco, he clearly wasn't happy about it. Marco didn't want to make things awkward, but he wanted to make sure that Ace didn't think Marco thought he was disgusting.

Maybe Marco would talk to him in private.

-x-

Ace didn't go back inside the galley that night, not even for dinner. Luffy and Deuce had gone to the kitchen to get everyone's food. They used it as practice with Luffy's power by having puppies with plates balanced on their backs to make their way back to their room. Jojo was a bit disappointed she couldn't cook their dinner that night, but she didn't want to pressure Ace to go eat in the galley where there were people who knew about his issue.

So, the Spades ate in their room, lounging around and talking about things _other _than Luffy's powers, or Ace's narcolepsy symptoms they'd seemed to have forgotten about. Things turned quiet when Ace took a much needed nap during dinner. Luffy pat his head and said, "No bad dreams," like he had a couple nights ago. It worked then, and Ace should sleep happy.

When he woke up, the plates were all back in the kitchen, and they were all lying in their beds relaxing. The sun was coming up soon, and everyone was telling Luffy a story. It used to happen more, but as they had entered more dangerous waters, there was never the time everyone could stay up at the same time.

Luffy was three the last time they did the group story. Sabo would start the narration and pass the story to the next person, who added their own little part so a massive story from everyone's imagination began. It was something the brothers missed doing. Luffy was on his back, eyes drooping slowly as he listened. He had his thumb in his mouth with his giraffe stuffed animal in the crook of his elbow.

Once the sun rose, Luffy drifted to sleep. The others were all ready to sleep, but Ace said, "I'm sorry if I mess everything up for everybody. Maybe Marco won't want us here anymore now that they know about my stupid blushing." He sounded so pathetic and defeated, ashamed of something he couldn't help.

Sabo sighed and flicked his brother's forehead head. "Marco isn't a jerk, Ace. He's not gonna want us all gone just cause you think he's cute or something. I mean, Thatch has total crush on Jojo and everyone is cool with it."

Ace pouted. "Still… I don't want to ruin things again." The last part was very quiet, and they all knew he was speaking about what happened before they set sail. There were references to whatever happened sometimes when Ace was at his most insecure, but it was never gone into detail, and the Spades knew better than to ask.

"You won't, Ace," Sabo insisted. No one said anything more as Ace curled on his side, not particularly tired as he'd just napped. Sabo and the others quickly fell to sleep. Ace did his best to fall asleep, even trying counting sheep, which was stupid in his opinion.

After an hour of being unable to fall asleep, he got up and left quietly. He made sure to leave a note on his pillow. Saying he went to the bathroom, when he was actually going to go to Marco and apologize.

"Where's Marco?" Ace asked a random person from the second division.

"Probably in his room working on paperwork," the man said. Ace thanked him politely and went in the direction he was gestured to. He worried he was in the wrong place, or it wasn't right for him, a non-crewmember, to be in this area, but no one turned him away. Thankfully, he didn't run into Thatch, Izo or Vista, who had been there for the initial incident.

He knocked on a semi-open door that he heard the scratching of pen on paper. "Come in," Marco's voice called. Ace wasn't comfortable going in, suddenly feeling very alone and worried. He just widened the door gap a little. When no one entered, Marco looked up in surprise to see Ace.

"Hey, Ace, What's up? Didn't you go to bed?" the pirate asked lightly. Ace looked down, kicking the toe of his boot into the wood floor.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Ace mumbled. Marco stood up and set his glasses down, opening the door and gesturing Ace inside. The teen was glad that it wasn't Marco's bedroom, but an office of some sort. It wasn't very tidy, papers all over the table. It looked incredibly boring.

"What's up?" Marco asked, sitting on a chair on one side of the desk while Ace sat in the lounge chair near the now closed door.

"I'm sorry."

"Wha- for what?" Marco asked, clearly not knowing what Ace was talking about.

"I don't wanna make you uncomfortable. I bet Izo and Thatch already told you about my little episode. I-" Ace mumbled, pulling on his shorts restlessly. Marco give him an understanding smile, and decided to be honest.

"I already knew about how you felt," Marco confessed. "I didn't say anything because it's clear you don't like feeling like that. It doesn't bother me, or gross me out, Ace. And we're not kicking you guys off because you think I'm nice looking or something." Ace's mouth was wide open.

"How did you know?!" he demanded, embarrassed, but also glad he didn't need to confess. Marco smiled at him in amusement.

"Vampires have good senses of smell. Every time you blush, you release pheromones. I've known since the beginning." Ace looked angry for a second before he deflated. "I know you've never really been near full vampires, so you're not used to our 'allure'," Marco explained.

Ace scoffed irritably. "Well, it's not just because you look good. You're nice, and you didn't judge Luffy or any of us when you didn't know what Luffy was. And you let us stay on your ship when we needed it, we didn't even ask. You just offered." Marco smiled at him kindly.

"Not all humans are liars, and not all vampires are monsters," Marco said simply. "You guys are nice people, and deserve to have others be kind and generous to you. Our crew values good people and those with family bonds. You're crew are good people and have family bonds. You all fit in well, and to be honest, Luffy's unpredictability is refreshing for us older vampires. Keeps us on our toes. You are all welcome to stay, even permanently if you choose to."

Ace looked uncertain and then lowered his gaze to the floor. "You wouldn't want me here," he said quietly, though of course Marco could hear. "Not after what I did."

"No one would hold your past against you," Marco said emphatically. "The past is the past. To be honest, I've done some pretty terrible things, but this crew, this _family, _doesn't hold anyone's past against them. I promise. And please don't feel uncomfortable around me now. Now that you know I know, things won't be so weird."

"Okay…"

Marco smiled and stood up. "Why don't you go to bed now?" he asked as he walked over to the teen. Ace nodded slowly. Marco walked him back to the room, having a feeling Ace would get lost since he hadn't been in this part of the ship before.

-x-

The teen was quiet and didn't say "goodnight" before entering the room. Marco stayed by the door, listening to see if Ace went to bed, and he did. Fairly quickly, a new voice's snore started up.

He walked back to his office, ready to do paperwork and sure he wouldn't be distracted now that he and Ace had everything out in the open. Ace's feelings were quiet innocent. Marco was nice to him, and he wasn't used to someone being nice and even nicer to the most precious thing in his life: Luffy. Izo and Haruta could speculate all they want. That Ace wanted some intimate-ness, but he was just relieved someone liked him as a person, and knew something bad had happened with him but did not hold him accountable for whatever it was.

He did pass Thatch in the hall, and told him he'd better keep his nose out of Ace's business and feelings. He even warned the man that he and Pops would not be happy if he or Izo spread around the news to the other commanders or even the other pirates in general. Thatch knew to take Marco's threat seriously. He wouldn't pester Ace about it, and he said so.

"I can't promise you Izo won't, though," Thatch warned.

Marco sighed at this, knowing that was the truth. Izo had tried matchmaking with the crew many times before. He'd been successful with nurse Tami and a third-division member, so he then claimed he could work magic. Usually it ended up in various shenanigans that Thatch usually took part in.

Though it was annoying sometimes, everyone knew it was in good fun. It wouldn't be for Ace, though. Most of the crew were strangers to him, and he was closed off and seemed to have trust issues that Marco believed stemmed from his childhood. After all, his crew mates were very trustworthy.

"Next time you see him, give him my message," the phoenix instructed. "I'm going to go do some more paperwork and then go to bed. I've been awake too long. I trust you and the others can handle the ship while I nap for a few hours."

"Sure, buddy," Thatch said and wandered away, muttering about how Jojo might be impressed if he succeeded in making his own blood candies the first try. The general population of vampires on the ship had enjoyed the candy. It was something they could eat that wasn't just plain old blood. The taste got boring after awhile, one of the things vampires could universally grumble about.


	15. Surprising Improvement

**sairakanzaki: That won't happen lol. This story is almost purely fluff. No kidnapping allowed.**

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**I just reached 10,000 views on this story! That's more than my previously popular one! I'm so happy! thank you everyone who has read my story. I appreciate it! There's more development in Luffy's powers this chapter. Enjoy~**

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The two days after Ace's feelings were revealed were surprisingly uneventful. Marco acted like nothing had happened, and Ace did his best to, too. Luffy hadn't had another melt-down, and though everyone knew about his powers now, no one seemed to shun him about it. Quite the opposite, actually. Luffy started putting on shows for pirates, creating various creatures and things to impress them. He had a lot of fun with this, and the Spades were very glad it hadn't made everyone hate the boy.

The brothers and their crew got to know many names from the pirates that weren't commanders. Ace had thought things would be more stressful after Luffy's episode and Ace's awkward moment, but it was the opposite. He didn't feel embarrassed about being around Marco, even if he didn't go out of his way to talk to him. None of the pirates had said anything to him about his crush on Marco, because the teen recognized that was what it was.

He now knew the vampires could tell when he blushed, which was still embarrassing, but they were nice about it and didn't comment or laugh. Thatch was happier, too, as he got to spend some time with Jojo after he failed miserably with making the blood candies, to his humiliation. But Jojo was nice about it and showed him how to make it. They had become quite popular among the vampires.

Luffy had been made more new clothes, and Ace and Sabo had a feeling it was the crew trying to tell them, inadvertently, that they wanted the Spades to stay forever. Sabo and Ace had both been told that they were wanted, but neither had told the other, thinking the other might be upset by it.

But neither brother knew if they wanted to stay. There were definitely pros and cons, but they both enjoyed being captains. If they joined, they'd be the regular "nobodies". They doubted either one of them would be made a commander. They would miss the freedom of making their own choices about where to go or what to do.

The major pro, though, was safety. None of the Spades had been ready to enter the Grand Line, even if Ace and Sabo were both very strong. Luffy was still so young. But, with the Whitebeards there to protect them, Luffy would be able to go onto an island safely with the vampires there with him.

It was a lot to think about, so they did their best not to at all. They didn't want to stress when Luffy was so happy. They did, however, become a bit jealous when Luffy would let go of their hands and run off to one of the commanders to talk to or show them something. He constantly went to Marco to ask to be flown, and the vampire was perfectly fine with it, humoring Luffy by flying a few meters up in the air.

Marco's willingness to go along with Luffy's requests just made Ace have a bigger crush, but he tried his hardest to ignore it. Just because Marco wasn't upset with him about it didn't mean he wanted to feel like this. Besides, Marco was a vampire. It would never work out.

That's what he did his best to convince himself of. Luffy hadn't brought the topic up again, to Ace's much thanks.

-x-

On the mark of the second week of the Spades residing on the Moby Dick, Luffy leapt forward so far in his abilities that everyone was shocked and even a bit worried. Whitebeard had to be the most excited one out of each person on the ship, besides the little boy of course.

Sabo and the Spades were bathing, Jojo in the kitchen baking with Thatch and swapping recipes, and Ace and Luffy were out on deck. The big brother played games with Luffy, playing with a ball, tag, and tossing Lu up in the air.

"I wanna play duck, duck, goose, Ace," Luffy said suddenly.

"Well, we can't right now. There aren't enough people. Everyone is busy at the moment. Why don't we wait a little bit? I'm sure they'll want to play with us once they're done with their tasks," Ace replied with a smile. Luffy frowned, wishing he could play right now. Who knows how long it'll take for the others to all finish?

Then, his face lit up and you could almost see a lightbulb flash above his head. "I will fix it!" he shouted and suddenly there were five more Luffy's surrounding them. Ace sat in shock as the original Luffy told his duplicate illusions to get in a circle so they could play the game.

The five clones cheered, excited to play the game. They each turned to Ace at the same time, and in unison, said, "Ace starts first!" The teen wasn't sure how to react to this. It had never crossed his mind that Luffy would eventually be able to create humans, as he created plenty of animals and bugs.

Ace stood up and did as the Luffys said. Each one's head was semi-solid besides the original, who was completely solid, when Ace tapped it. He pushed away the shock and uncertainty as he played with the Luffys. They each made quite the ruckass, as it was now six four year olds playing instead of one.

A few pirates approached the back deck, wondering why it was so noisy all of the sudden when it had been relatively quiet for a long time. Their jaws dropped when they saw all of the Luffys and a slightly helpless looking Ace. Three of the little boys turned to the crowd of onlookers and asked, in unison again, if they wanted to play with them. Only a few seconds later, they all disappeared, leaving one Luffy and Ace.

"Aww! They didn't stay that long!" Luffy complained. They had only been there for maybe ten minutes, when most of his creations were around for maybe twenty or so minutes. Ace took a deep breath and then stood up.

"Why don't we go inside, Lu? We should tell the others of your progress." Despite having been shocked and worried, Ace was also proud of Luffy. He had always been a clueless four year old, but he was so proficient in his new ability. Far surpassing the rate it had taken Ace to master his own. He hadn't even thought of Luffy making _humans, _so what else could he do that was something no one had even wondered being possible?

"Kay," Luffy said and joined hands with Ace. The boy smiled at the onlookers as they passed them all. "Ace, carry me?" Luffy asked, lifting his arms up for Ace to pick him up. Luffy smiled in his arms, sticking his thumb in his mouth, happy with his progress he saw as amazing. Now he'd never be lonely!

The two entered the galley, where many of the commanders were, including all of the vampires. It was the middle of the night, after all. Many of the commanders stayed in the galley for long periods of time when they were not doing their own duties, so they could talk to those who were maybe on different schedules. Marco, Whitebeard and a few other vampire commanders were at their usual table.

"Marco, Marco!" Luffy called, squirming in Ace's arms until he put him down, and then ran over. "Guess what I did!" Marco smiled at him and asked what he did. "I made me's!" The others looked a bit confused and looked to Ace.

He gave a slightly nervous smile, and said, "Luffy can now make humans. We played duck, duck, goose with five copies of himself." Marco's jaw dropped, and Whitebeard's eyes lit up before he began to laugh.

"That's wonderful progress, Luffy," the captain said with a bright grin. Luffy giggled bashfully.

"I bet I can make you!" Luffy said, pointing to Marco. "Whitebeard is too big, I can't see his head." The others laughed. Looking like it took no effort at all, a duplicate of Marco appeared. Only, it looked a bit different than the real Marco. The illusion was much taller than the real Marco. And he didn't have his tattoo. He also wore the glasses Luffy had rarely seen him in.

Everyone figured it was due to Luffy's perspective that the copy Marco was taller than he really was. They all realized that these were perceptions by Luffy, not duplicates of the real person. It was how Luffy saw Marco that he looked like this.

It seemed like keeping adults there was more taxing as he disappeared in under five minutes when the Luffys he'd made lasted for ten. The commanders and some of the other pirates present clapped for him. Luffy soaked up all the attention like a very happy sponge. Then he frowned, surprising the others. Luffy looked puzzled for a minute before turning to Ace and looking up at him.

"I'm thirsty, Ace," the boy said.

"Now?" Ace asked, confused as Luffy had never been thirsty until Sunday. When Luffy nodded, Marco was the one to get up and get Luffy a glass of his "juice". When it was brought back, Luffy gulped it down and sighed.

"All better!" It confused Ace deeply, but he eventually settled that maybe Luffy used up more energy working on the human illusions, who were capable of speech and independent thought. So it would make sense it would be draining. But it must not make him tired or hungry, but drain his energy he got from being part vampire.

Just then, the Spades and Sabo came in. Jojo had been watching from the kitchen, not surprised that Luffy would grow stronger at a speedy pace. The newcomers knew that something was off when they saw Luffy holding a cup that had the insides covered in blood, on a Friday. He wasn't supposed to have his juice until Sunday.

Ace explained what had happened without needing to be asked. Sabo was worried about how powerful the four year old could become, and if he could handle the improvements at such a rapid pace, while the others congratulated him, impressed.

After dinner, Luffy also seemed to be more exhausted when using his powers to create humans, and fell asleep the moment he finished chewing his last bite. Ace was fast and caught him before he slammed his head into his dinner plate.

"Well, bed time I guess," Ace said softly, gently picking up the boy so he was leaning against Ace's chest. The Spades left the galley and kitchen and headed to bed. There were no dreams that night, which was strange since each night there had been at least _some _activity. More proof that Luffy was more tired from making humans.

-x-

Luffy sat on Whitebeard's shoulder, something he'd been wanting to try for awhile, but Ace and Sabo said no. But, with every day showing that the pirates, vampires and humans alike, were good people was making Ace and Sabo more lax, though they still sat next to Whitebeard's chair. It was in the middle of the night after a storm had passed, so the air was nice and clean.

"Hey, Whitebeard, did you have a mom and dad?" Luffy suddenly asked while playing with a conjured lizard trying to get out of his small hands. Ace and Sabo stiled at the question, Sabo confused. As far as he knew, they had never approached the subject of a mom and dad. Ace looked to Sabo slightly guilty, and told him quickly about Ace and Luffy's conversation a couple weeks ago.

"I did, long, long ago," Whitebeard replied.

"Do you remember them?"

"I do. They were good people," the older vampire answered honestly.

"Do you miss them?" Luffy wondered, holding the lizard up by its curly tail and it wriggled around and then disappeared.

"Not anymore. It's been quite some time after all, and I have a new family," the gentle giant said. He watched the little one's face scrunch up, trying to think of what to make next when he settled on a pink frog.

"A new family?" Luffy wondered curiously. Whitebeard nodded. "Who are your new family?" Whitebeard grinned proudly and gestured to the crew out on deck.

"My crew are my family. All of them are my precious sons and daughters." Whitebeard was pretty sure he'd explained this before, when Luffy had told the man he had had lots of babies, but it was a nice topic, so he gladly repeated it.

Luffy's frog hopped out of his hands and down onto Whitebeard's lap before it frantically hopped away. Luffy jumped off his shoulder and chased after it, his attention easily lost. Ace and Sabo cringed when he lept from such a height, but they knew he'd be fine. It was just a habit to worry even when they didn't need to.

Trusting the others on the deck to not do anything, they just kept watch as Luffy chased the frog, finally catching it and hurrying back with it trapped in his hands. He ran into the problem of how he was going to climb back up while also holding the frog. Whitebeard saw this and easily lifted the boy up to his own shoulder with a large hand.

"I like your family, Whitebeard," Luffy said with a beam. "I like mine, too," he added. Whitebeard chuckled.

"I like your family, too, little one." Luffy smiled proudly and proclaimed that they were "the best!" The Spades that were nearby, which was only the brothers and Deuce, smiled. While things continued to go smoothly on their time on the Moby Dick, the crew had branched off more into their own interests. They still mostly went to bed and woke up at the same time, but they were spending time with others.

The twins had formed friendships for those who used guns as their main weapons. Saber went with the navigators, excited to learn as much about the Grand Line and now New World as possible. Jojo, of course spent time with Thatch, and when he wasn't there, with the sou chefs. Though, Thatch rarely missed a chance to cook with his crush. Deuce spent more time with Ace and his brothers than the others due to their more close relationships. Aggie 68 slaved away, enjoying it, in the infirmary. They shared their knowledge, Aggie 68 sharing some things while he learned much about sicknesses on these seas, and about vampire health for little Luffy.

They had integrated into the crew smoothly, even if that wasn't the plan yet. Though, everyone on the Whitebeard crew had to stop themselves from saying "brother" and "sister" around them.

While Luffy and Whitebeard talked about their families and the adventures they'd gone on (Luffy's being small adventures, like the time he last went in the snow with both Ace _and _Sabo), Saber and Fossa walked over.

"Good news, Pops. We're nearing an island," Fossa said. Luffy jumped up on Whitebeard's shoulder.

"Ace and Sabo said I can go on a island next time!" Luffy shouted in the giant's ear, not that it bothered Whitebeard. Just made him chuckle.

"Continue, son," he said.

"It's a summer island. Uninhabited, though, so we won't be able to buy supplies to patch up the Spade's ship, unfortunately," Fossa replied, though the "unfortunately" part didn't sound too sincere. "We should be there tomorrow morning," he finished, making Luffy pout. He didn't want to have to wait! He wished he could go outside in the sunlight sometimes, even if it hurts a little.

"But I don't wanna wait," Luffy complained.

"Luffy, all of the vampires on the ship have to wait till night time. You're not the only one anymore," Sabo pointed out. It didn't get rid of Luffy's pout.

"Wish I could go outside in the day time." Maybe sometime he'll try making it night time during the day with his powers! But, he wasn't interested in that yet. He still had to master his people skills!

"Remember last time you went outside in the day? How it didn't feel good?" Sabo asked. Some of the people on deck had their heads whip around and stare at the brothers accusingly. Why on Earth would they let Luffy, a vampire, go outside in the day time?! They were quick to defend themselves.

Ace said, "Luffy was three and had to use the bathroom and decided he wanted to try and pee over the side of the ship. We pulled him back inside right away, but he'd already been burned." Luffy nodded, remembering that. The pirates laughed or sighed in relief that the older brothers hadn't taken Luffy outside on purpose.

"Well, boys, you're in for a Whitebeard party. It's long overdue, but every time we find an island, we throw a party," the captain said with a cheeky grin. "You three are not allowed to drink, as you aren't pirates and are underage, but you're welcome for the rest." Luffy's eyes brightened in interest.

"Like a birthday party with cake and presents?" the boy asked excitedly. He earned a gruff chuckle.

"A bit different than that, Luffy. Mostly singing and eating good food and the adults drinking some alcohol or your juice with alcohol in it. We play cards and just have a great time. It'll be at night, of course, so everyone can take part," Whitebeard explained happily. Luffy pouted, wishing he could have cake. "I'm sure we can get Thatch or Jojo to bake you a cake." Luffy's attitude changed quickly.

"Yay, a party!" he cheered. "I want chocolate cake!"

-x-

Ace and Sabo sat a bit awkwardly near the railing with Luffy in the middle, making tiny creatures and bugs with a soft smile on his face, in the afterglow of finishing a very yummy cake. The two eldest brothers felt a bit uncomfortable, as all of the pirates had gotten in varying stages of drunkenness.

The boys had grown up in a very strict village, and had never been exposed to alcohol in large quantities before. And no one drank on the Spade's ship because they never bought alcohol. Sure, the adults on the crew went to bars sometimes, but they always drank sparingly.

But apparently, not tonight. The members of the Spade crew who were of legal age drunk to their heart's content. Apparently, they all had different personalities of drunk.

Deuce was a sleepy drunk, who lost consciousness after the third mug, and was now snoring loudly across the deck. Zeno and Sparky were both loud and laughed much more than usual while they were intoxicated. Surprisingly, Saber was a very competent drunk. He'd out done all the pirates who were now challenging him in a line across the deck. He had a huge barrel of rum next to him as he won each bet. Aggie 68 only drank a few glasses before he stopped, much like the nurses, who either had one glass or none at all. They were in charge of the crew's safety, and being hungover would hinder their duty. Jojo ended up being unable to stop giggling at every little thing while under the influence. It was a stark contrast to her usually very well-put together self. Thatch kept trying to kiss her hand but she swatted him away every time, giggling helplessly.

Ace and Sabo felt very unsure in this situation. Their friends were not themselves and it was extremely loud, and the deck was full of barely conscious or knocked out pirates. Some barfing over the side of the ship only to drink more right afterwards. Luffy seemed to sense his brothers' unease.

"Ace, Sabo, we can go steal from the fridge," he whispered. The two took this as a good chance and immediately stood up, Sabo picking his brother up, as they hurried inside. Luffy turned around to wave goodbye to Whitebeard and Marco, who were watching them leave the deck and head inside.

As soon as the door closed behind them and the loud noises ceased, Ace and Sabo both took deep breaths. "You saved us, Lu," Ace said with a grin. "Let's go raid the pantry now!" Ace set him down and the three went running to the galley and kitchen to steal some goodies.

Luffy inspected the lower shelves of the pantry while Sabo and Ace worked on the refrigerators. "Luffy, look, popsicle juice," Sabo said, taking a frozen pop of blood out of the freezer and handing it to Luffy, who took it happily. He continued to dig through the cupboards to see what there was, and came out with a box of cookies.

Ace pulled out large legs of different types of meat, while Sabo snatched some fizzy drinks out and some of the blood cake for Luffy. They brought their spoils to the nearest table and dug in, even though they weren't hungry and had already had a meal. Luffy happy ate the cookies and meat. They ate until they were uncomfortably full. Ace then face planted into the table from a sleep attack. They'd been happening more frequently, much to Ace's distain, even with the medication.

Luffy made a pillow and put it under Ace's forehead. He didn't have panic attacks when Ace fell asleep anymore. Sabo was always there and not worried, so Luffy wasn't either. By the time Ace woke back up, five minutes after he passed out, they realized it was getting later and the sun would be up soon.

Luffy yawned widely, eyes drooping quicker as damn approached. "Ready for bed, Lu?" Sabo asked. The little boy nodded and Ace cleaned up their mess, not caring in the slightest if Thatch was unhappy with them being there. Sabo picked Luffy up and they walked back to their room to change into their pajamas. Luffy put on his fluffy socks last before snuggling under the covers.

"No one is here," he whispered as he fell into sleep.

"They're probably all out on deck, passed out," Sabo replied quietly, but Luffy was already asleep. The blonde turned to Ace, who was looking at the wall with a small frown. "What's wrong, Ace?" Sabo asked in a hush.

"...Do you think that our crew would choose the Whitebeards over us?"

"I think we're also asking that of ourselves," Sabo replied. It wasn't what Ace had been expecting, but it was the truth. They were all thinking about it. "They had fun drinking. It doesn't mean they prefer them over us. Try not to worry about it, we can't do anything about it right now."

Ace hummed an agreement and fell asleep, worried.


	16. An Unfortunate Outcome

**Mixture of fluff and drama in this chapter. Enjoy~**

* * *

To the three brothers' amazement, most of the pirates were over their hangovers the next evening. They must be seasoned drinkers, because the poor Spades had horrific headaches. Saber had drunk the most and Aggie the least but they still had killer hangovers. The brothers quietly got into their day outfits while their crew moaned in bed, feeling sick.

When the three went to eat their breakfast, Thatch was glaring at them. "What?" Ace asked innocently.

"You raided my kitchen!" he accused. Luffy gave a blank look while Sabo looked indifferent.

"Your proof?" Ace asked cooly.

"The missing juice cake that only Luffy can eat," Thatch deadpanned. Ace _tch_ed and whispered, "Damn."

"Are we in trouble?" Luffy asked with wide eyes. "It was my idea, I'm sorry," he said sadly. He wasn't even trying to, but it made Thatch melt and his anger fade away.

"You're not in trouble, Luffy," Thatch said seriously. "I was being silly." Ace and Sabo smiled, but Thatch whispered, "_You two _are in trouble. You should know better than to mess with my kitchen." Luffy was happy enough with him not being in trouble, and ate his food happily while Thatch listed off their chores for making up.

"How about we don't get in trouble, and we don't tell Jojo about all the embarrassing things you did while intoxicated?" Ace asked darkly, with an evil smirk. "How you kept trying to kiss her but she kept swatting you away. Or how about when you almost fell over the side of the ship after throwing up. _Or-" _

"Okay, you win! No punishment," he grumbled. "You better not tell her any of that stuff," the chef warned. Ace just grinned cheekily. The commanders behind them at the table laughed, Whitebeard's loud and booming.

"We going on island tonight?" Luffy asked excitedly. Ace and Sabo looked to Marco, sitting at the commander's table behind them. None of the other Spades had arrived yet, so the brothers counted them out.

"We sure are. We already have to figured out. You, your brothers, me and a few of the second division are all going inland to scope the area. We have to find if other people live here," Thatch explained. Of course, the rest of the crew were going on the more difficult routes. Luffy's group would stick to the coast and explore as far as the boy could.

Luffy bounced on his seat. "I can't wait!" he cheered. He was very impatient through the meal, and kept chanting for his brother to eat faster, before they finally just scarfed the rest of the food down like animals to get Luffy to stop poking them and to hurry up.

Luffy was given a little canteen with blood in it, and a lunch box in a small backpack. Ace and Sabo smiled at how the Whitebeards were treating this like a very special occasion. It was to Ace, Sabo, and Luffy, since it was Luffy's first full outing onto any island. Izo had even made him an explorer's hat and vest to wear.

Haruta couldn't resist taking a photo of Explorer Luffy. He was so happy and excited. The group of second division members were the ones who had interacted with Luffy the most and were also strong for protection, but not too vital that they would be sorely missed. Teach, Perry and Lee would be accompanying the brothers and chef.

"Onward! The explorer troop descends!" Thatch declared as the seven of them left the ship. Cheers were shouted for Luffy to have a fun time. And it would be fun. For the most part.

-x-

The group stuck close to the coast, but not directly on the beach. Luffy trampled over plants with his short legs, slowing the progression much. But he didn't complain, so no one else did as well. He sucked on his juice canteen happily as he inspected everything. He didn't remember the last time he'd been around a forest. There were so many bugs! Multiple times he had to be brought back to the group after chasing a bug.

Lee and Perry were also vampires, and one was at the back and one at the front in case anything was near and their senses detected it. Luffy was too distracted to notice anything strange happening with his vampire senses.

When they arrived at a cliff, they all looked out on the horizon, the water reflecting the beautiful night sky. Since they were on the coast, the trees weren't blocking the moonlight, but the humans in the group had lanterns. Luffy and the other two vampires saw just fine. The vampires were also in front to tell the humans if there was a dip in the rocks or a steep drop of some sort they'd need to avoid.

While they walked, Thatch and Teach were talking about marines and how it was annoying they seemed to be everywhere in Paradise. The two older brothers were responding to Luffy every time he declared something was "amazing" or cheered that he was having so much fun.

Ace eventually took Luffy and set him on his shoulders higher. Luffy was incredibly light, so it didn't annoy or hinder Ace at all. After awhile, Luffy started using Ace's head as a table, putting his lunch box on it to eat. It made the others chuckle and Ace roll his eyes goodnaturedly.

Once they had made it halfway along the coast of the uninhabited island, they were at a very nice place to take a break at. It was the peak of the coast wall, and they sat down to eat their snacks, Luffy's already gone but getting seconds from Thatch's pack. He had come prepared and the brothers were grateful.

After their pause, they took a bathroom break. Luckily they were all men and it was easy. Thatch came back holding something he hadn't had before, looking at whatever it was in interest. When he came into view of light with all of the lanterns, he held it up.

"Hey, I found a devil fruit," he announced, holding the purple fruit up. Ace and Sabo could confirm it was a devil fruit, since it looked similar to the one Ace ate, but had had no idea about at the time.

"Will you get powers, too, Thatch?" Luffy asked interestedly, asking to see it. Thatch lowered it down in front of the boy's face height. Luffy picked it up and inspected it. Thatch replied that he would get powers if he ended up eating it. The vampire child handed the fruit back up to Thatch.

From behind them, the brothers and Ace heard, "Hey, Teach, what's wrong man?" Lee asked. This brought everyone's attention to Teach, who had a dark look on, eyes fixed on the devil fruit. But then, Lee and Perry, who were both smaller than Teach, were caught off guard and thrown over the side of the cliff. They landed in the water below.

Luffy screamed and hid behind Ace's legs. The brothers and Thatch stared at the man in shock. "Now that you've seen me do that, I'll have to kill everyone here. Thatch, give me the fruit," Teach said wickedly. Sabo, in a flash, pulled his pipe out of its sheath on the back of his jacket and held it out ready to fight. Ace lit his arms on fire. Thatch seemed to be in shock, and didn't react except for a small, "Huh?"

Teach was faster than Ace and Sabo, even if he was larger, and easily grabbed Sabo's pipe and tossed it away. Sabo ducked under the punch and slammed his fist into Teach's crotch. He did feel the pain, but ignored it as best as he could and grabbed Sabo around the throat.

Ace ran at him and burned him badly, but the man didn't release Sabo. Ace was punched in the face with a haki covered fist, making blood fly out of his mouth. Luffy was screaming the whole time, very scared. Sabo had passed out from the lack of oxygen, and was thrown down to the ground.

"Ace, Sabo!" Luffy screamed. Teach turned to him, "You're making too much noise, freak," he said. Luffy backed away as he approached, and ran around his legs to Ace and Sabo, guarding them with a teary but determined face.

It clicked that Luffy could make a lot of noise and hopefully draw other pirates. He created a whistle and put it to his mouth to blow it, but he was grabbed too. However, something different happened when Luffy was grabbed. Teach almost immediately let him go, dropping him back to the ground. And then he started screaming and waving his hands around. He made enough noise that Luffy didn't need the whistle anymore.

Thatch had _finally _come to grips and hurried to Ace and Sabo to see if they were okay while having his swords out. The two were both knocked out, but breathing. Luffy was shaking in fear, whimpering as he watched Teach freak out.

"Get them off!" he shrieked. But Thatch and Luffy couldn't see anything on him. He screamed like he was being mauled by something, but there was nothing there. While he was very distracted, Thatch angrily walked to him and unsheathed a sword from his back and chopped one of his legs off.

"You won't be going anywhere, traitor," Thatch hissed. He had the fruit far from Teach's grasp. Teach screamed, but the pain seemed to bring him to his senses, and he figured out what could have happened. It was Luffy's fault, as he had only started seeing and being attacked by monsters when he grabbed Luffy.

It surprised Thatch when Teach, one legged now, grabbed Luffy and forcefully chucked him over the cliff, screaming in fear.

-x-

Luffy hit the water hard, stinging his back. He tried to swim to the surface, but he wasn't good at swimming and had never really been taught, so he flailed around and cried for help once he broke the surface, only to be pulled back under from the violent currents. He slammed into the cliff face as the waves threw him against the surface. He lost consciousness once his head hit the rocks the second time.

Even though he was unconscious, the waves still threw him around painfully. He wasn't awake when a strong arm wrapped itself around his waist and pulled him up and out of the water. When he breached the surface, he instinctively sucked in a breath of air, but didn't wake up. It was a very angry vampire that had saved him. Lee had been thrown over the edge, but was fine, Perry had gone to get the nearest commander. They had been foolish and not packed a den den mushi.

When Lee climbed back up the cliff, Luffy on his shoulder, Ace and Sabo were still both knocked out. All of the brothers were, and Teach was still screaming about the monsters attacking him and the pain of his missing leg. His one second of coherency to throw Luffy over the cliff had really been one second.

No one else could see anything attacking him, and he looked perfectly fine. Wasn't covered in wounds or anything. Thatch was staring at the traitor in hate, the devil fruit tucked into the sack he'd brought.

"How is he?" Thatch asked, but didn't take his eyes off of Teach.

"He hit his head, but he's alive," Lee replied. "All three of them are out. Damn Teach! What is he thinking!?" Lee was a close friend of Teach, but never saw something like this coming. A few moments later, the area was lit up with blue and gold light as Marco landed in phoenix form. He looked down at the three casualties. Luffy's forehead was bleeding from a wound, Sabo's neck was swollen and already bruising, and Ace had blood dribbled out of his mouth.

The sight made Marco's blood boil, and he turned to the hallucinating traitor. Perry had explained to Marco what had happened, and the man was furious. Not just because he'd betrayed them, but Luffy's very first outing had gone horribly wrong, and now he and his brothers were all injured. And the Spades would probably blame themselves for not being there. What a mess! All because of a damn devil fruit!

After just a few minutes of Marco calling Pops, he was there. He glared down at Teach after briefly looking at the three youngest with sad eyes. Each one was unconscious and injured in some way. Luffy and Sabo were worse off than Ace. He ordered for the kids to be taken back to the ship and to the infirmary immediately.

Haruta picked up Luffy, while Izo and Namur took Ace and Sabo. Haruta used his vampire speed to take the injured boy to the infirmary. Ace and Sabo were soon in their own beds as well, Luffy's bed in between both of theirs. Sabo's neck was treated, while Luffy was worked on for his head injury. Any cuts he'd gotten from the fall had healed, but his head got hit pretty hard, and no one knew how he would heal.

-x-

Whitebeard had brought chains with him and wrapped them around the scum as Thatch explained what had happened with a pained voice. Though everyone present was fuming, they were also hurt. Teach didn't just attack the guests, but his own family and going after Thatch next before the man had started hallucinating.

The captain and first mate observed Teach's behavior and Marco caught on first. "Thatch, you said he started freaking out after grabbing Luffy?" Marco hoped so badly that the boys would be okay.

"Yeah," Thatch answered in a cold voice.

"Looks like Luffy has defensive powers as well. Illusions must be attacking Teach, but we can't see them and they haven't faded despite Luffy being unconscious. Well, at least we don't have to waste any effort on this scum," Marco said.

"All for a devil fruit," Thatch murmured. "I hope we didn't just lose the trust we'd built with the Spades." Whitebeard sighed, and gestured that they should walk back to the ship, dragging Teach along the rocky ground as he continued to thrash around from the invisible monsters attacking his mind, not his body.

"Hopefully they will see this as not something that was aimed at them, but they were at the wrong place at the wrong time," the captain replied. Thatch was still worried, though, as was Marco. "They will probably be the most angry about Luffy being hurt and them unable to help."

Marco sighed. "I hope Luffy will still want to see new places and will not stick to the ship only after this."

"And he was having so much fun, too!" Thatch fumed. "Damn Teach had to ruin it!"

On their way back to the ship, the illusions plaguing Teach finally ceased, and he stopped screaming. "P-Pops!" he shouted, like he just now noticed what was happening around him. His skin was being torn as he was dragged along the ground, one leg missing so he couldn't walk anyway.

Marco stomped his foot on Teach's face, breaking his nose and multiple teeth. "You don't get to call him Pops anymore, you filthy traitor," Marco growled. Teach growled, but earned another powerful kick from the vampire zoan.

Teach didn't even try to defend himself. It was clear the situation was out of his control now. He just hoped he'd offed that little brat that made him think he was being mauled. By the time they reached the shore where the Moby Dick was, with the Spade's ship still tethered to the back of the ship, Teach was covered in blood and gashes from the rocks he was dragged against. He complained about it, but no one did anything but kick him a couple times.

He was thrown into the brig of the ship, which was rarely ever used, as there was no one on their crew that ever did anything bad enough to get them down there. Teach was the first in a long time to be trapped in that cold place. Even though he couldn't go anywhere with one leg, they chained him to the wall.

Marco went straight to the infirmary to see the brothers, and hoped they were okay and didn't lose all trust in the pirates. When he entered, only Ace was awake, looking drowsy and sleepy. He sat on the side of Luffy's bed and cradled him gently. The boy still wasn't awake, even though the cut on his head had healed and the blood had been cleaned off.

"Hey, Ace. How are you feeling?" Marco asked hesitantly. Ace's face was cold for a moment before it crumpled into shame and misery. Tears gathered in his eyes. Marco saw this and went over and hugged him tightly. Sending mixed signals or not, Ace needed comforting, and his brothers weren't there for him for once.

"I'm supposed to protect him, and I couldn't do anything," Ace cried into Marco's chest, warm tears on his bare chest. "I'm so weak!"

"You are not weak, Ace. Teach is much older and has been on dangerous seas much longer. He only got you because he can use haki," Marco said softly.

Ace shook his head. "I couldn't even save Sabo when I wasn't being the one targeted," he argued. "Weak… No wonder our crew likes yours more. I'm a terrible captain." Marco was surprised by this. Ace had to know his crew adored him didn't he? Marco hadn't realize Ace had such low self-esteem. Marco hypothesized that it was from his childhood.

"Your crew adores you three, Ace. I know they'd stick with you guys no matter what you decide," Marco assured him, rubbing his hand comfortingly down Ace's back. He pulled away, face pink, but neither said anything or acknowledged it.

"Thank you, Marco," Ace mumbled, going back to Luffy's bed.

Marco licked his lips nervously. "Ace… do you guys still tr-"

"We were at the wrong place at the wrong time. That dickhead wanted the fruit, not us. We will still trust you." Ace then threw a bright smile at him, even if his eyes held some sorrow still. "We love our crew, but we also love yours." Then he turned away, leaving Marco speechless before he smiled to himself and left the room.

Ace just opened up to him, even if it was a little bit! He didn't say for sure that they would be staying, but he didn't lose trust in them, didn't think it was everyone's fault for this. It was amazing progress. And if Ace still trusted them, then Sabo and Luffy had to, too. It took them much less time to trust the pirates than it did for Ace. Marco hoped the Spades would forgive them for not protecting their captains and ball of sunshine.

When he entered the galley, he saw Thatch sitting at the table, glaring at the devil fruit. He looked to be in physical pain. After all, Teach was gonna go at him with a knife. He admitted to that when they threw him in the brig. Thatch was very shaken, and hated the devil fruit. Maybe, if he hadn't found it, then Teach would still be their brother.

Everyone was thinking that.

"It was better to learn sooner than later, Thatch. Devil fruit regardless, Teach has always been a traitor. We just didn't know it," Marco said, sitting next to his friend and putting his arm around his neck. Thatch sighed, but knew Marco was right.

"How are the brothers?" Thatch asked, changing the subject. Marco smiled softly, making Thatch really curious about what happened.

"Sabo and Luffy are still asleep, but Ace was awake. He told me that he hasn't lost trust in us. He said he loved his crew, but also ours," Marco said.

"AWWWWW!" Thatch cooed. "That's so cute! Oh, I love them, I want to keep them!" Marco chuckled, but agreed.

"Well, I'm gonna go tell the Spades what's happened. Want to come, so you can explain it in greater detail? I'm sure Jojo won't be angry with you," Marco added. Thatch looked hesitant, but nodded and followed his vampire brother to the Spade's room. He knocked on the door quietly, and got a few moans to come in.

"Hey, guys. We have to talk," Marco said simply, sitting on the brothers' bed. The Spades all sat up quickly, their hangovers fading as the night progressed. When Thatch explained what had happened, they got varying reactions. Intense anger, fear, sadness, and worry. "Teach is now in the brig. Ace, Sabo and Luffy are in the infirmary if you want to visit them." He'd barely finished his sentence before the Spades shot up and sprinted down the hall and to their captains and Luffy.


	17. Thinking About The Future

**Push23: Many of my stories (the majority, finished and unfinished) never make Teach the good guy. I hate him too much to even make him better than he is in cannon. I hope he dies in the anime/manga.**

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**Much shorter chapter this time. Looks like the last couple of chapters will be shorter. We're nearing the end. T-T I'm gonna be sad about finishing posting this one. It's the most popular story I've posted. Readers wants to overdose on fluffy content I guess. lol. Anyways, enjoy~**

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It seemed the Spade's hangovers disappeared in their worry. When they reached the infirmary, Ace and Sabo were now both awake, on either side of Luffy, who was the only one left unconscious. The Spades ran to their captains' sides and asked if they were okay.

"We're fine. Sabo can't speak for a little while. Teach choked him good," Ace said angrily. Sabo sighed, irritated he couldn't say a single thing with his neck like this. His eyes were slightly red from being choked until knocked out. "The doctor said Luffy's head should be fine, based on what we've told her about his healing powers. He just has to wake up."

"So, what are we gonna do, cap?" Deuce asked Ace.

"Well, we can't exactly go anywhere right now. We're still staying on this ship, at least for now. Izo said the next island is a week away. We can decide what to do when we reach that island. Water 7 is still a while away from here," Ace said, observing the crew's reactions to what he said. Some of them smiled in relief. Ace finally asked what had been bothering him for awhile. Since almost the beginning of being on this ship. He'd worried about it for weeks and he was tired of being worried about it.

"If we decide to leave, will you guys go with us?" Ace asked in a tight voice. Worry was evident on his face. His crew looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Of course we'd go with you. You're our family, brought us misfits together," Jojo said, a bit exasperated. The others nodded with her looking at Ace like he was being silly. And maybe he was. He grinned brightly, so relieved. "And you decide to stay, we'll stay, too."

Luffy woke up not long later, everyone talking quietly. He made a confused sound when he opened his eyes to the bright room. Then he started sobbing, remembering what had happened. Ace reached to him and drew him into his arms, soothingly running his fingers through Luffy's hair. "Shh, you're okay. We're all okay. The bad man will never get us again," the teen assured his baby brother. Luffy still cried. It was very traumatizing.

"He threw me into the ocean!" Luffy cried. Ace hugged him closer, Sabo rubbing his back softly. He would reassure his brother, but couldn't talk, so he counted on Ace being the one to calm him.

No one but Thatch had seen Luffy get tossed into the raging sea, and the two had heard what had happened, but hearing Luffy recount it was sickening. "It was so far, an-and then I h-hit the wat-ter and went as-sleep! It wa-was scary!"

"I know Lu. It must have been very scary, but no one is badly hurt. No one died, and you were saved," Ace said gently. "We're all okay. Teach is locked up and badly hurt. The Whitebeards will protect us from him. And me and sabo will try our best to fight back if something bad like this ever happen again."

Both Ace and Sabo were ashamed of how weak they had been. Ace had only given Teach a bad burn, but it hadn't stopped him. It was most likely Luffy's power that incapacitated the traitor. "Luffy, did you see what happened to Teach after he grabbed you?" Luffy sniffled loudly and shook his head. "We think you ended up saving us. Teach started acting weird after he hurt you, and we think it was some of your powers. So, Thatch said thank you."

"Why did the bad guy want to hurt us?" Luffy wondered, wiping his runny nose along his arm. Sabo took a tissue off the bedside table and wiped the snot off of Luffy's arm.

Ace replied, "He wanted the devil fruit." Luffy frowned, not understanding why someone would want a fruit over family. "We don't know what it does yet, but whatever it is, Teach wanted it badly." Luffy switched to sit in Sabo's lap, while Ace still talked. "He is going to be severely punished." Luffy nodded, hoping he wouldn't have to see the man again. Ever again.

-x-

Marco, Thatch, Whitebeard and Izo all stood in front of Teach's cell. They each gave him looks that said they thought he was the most disgusting piece of trash they'd ever seen. Teach glared back, but it was clear he was afraid. Whitebeard had a dark look on, one full of disappointment and sorrow, also with anger buried underneath.

"Why did you betray us?" Marco asked, his arms crossed. Thatch had the devil fruit in his hand, which hung by his side. "Was it all for this devil fruit?"

Teach glowered at them and nodded. "What does it do?" the phoenix asked. Teach didn't answer, just glowered at them.

"Marco," Whitebeard said darkly, Marco knowing what to do. He flew into the cage and transformed partially so his taloned foot now grasped around Teach's head, pushing painfully and cutting both sides of his head and face. He tried to thrash out of Marco's grip, but he just tightened it further. "What. Does. It. Do?" Marco demanded. When Teach didn't answer, Marco sighed. He looked to his father and captain, earning a nod.

It always amazed the others how Whitebeard and Marco seemed to be able to carry out conversations without speaking out loud. Marco released Teach's head only to bring one of his talons up to Teach's eye. "Would you like to see out of both eyes, _traitor?" _

"Fine! It's called the yami yami fruit!" Teach shouted, and then explained everything it does. Thatch asked him what he was planning on doing once he got it, since he'd admitted to only staying on this crew this long to find the fruit.

"I would kill that useless man! The most powerful man in the world, and he spends his time playing house!" Teach shouted angrily. "I will be the pirate king with that fruit!" Whitebeard looked down at him coldly, while the others were outraged by Teach's disrespectful words and heinous plan.

Whitebeard took the fruit from Thatch's hand, and crushed it into nothing in his hand, right in front of the man who tried to kill for it. When Whitebeard opened his hand, it was just blue, gooey fluid, like any other citrus fruit would have ended up looking like after being crushed.

"You will never be the pirate king, Teach," Whitebeard said. Teach shouted out in rage, seeing the fruit he'd been searching for become inedible. Whitebeard dropped what was left of it to the ground and stomped on it for good measure. "I sentence you to execution. Betrayal on any pirate crew is a sin, but especially on our ship." Teach just glowered at Whitebeard, though both vampires could smell his fear. "I will allow our resident fellow captains do with you what they wish, as they were unable to protect Luffy from you. Look forward to it," Whitebeard said, and he and his remaining sons left the brig, slamming the metal door shut behind them and locking it.

Marco, Thatch and Izo still felt rage at Teach's plan, to kill his own father. Well, he was no longer anyone's son or brother anymore. Thatch and Izo went to get the commanders and tell them the news while the first mate and captain headed to the infirmary to talk to the Spades, who deserved an explanation for Teach's behavior.

They were both glad to see all three brothers awake and alert, though Sabo's throat was swollen and horribly bruised. Poor kid. Luffy's injury was gone, and he seemed perfectly coherent, thankfully. They were all worried about him having such a bad head injury, but he was part vampire after all. He was tough.

The Spades all turned to the door, and Ace smiled at Whitebeard and Marco. The other crew members were on their other beds, as Ace, Luffy and Sabo were now on one bed. "What's up?" Ace asked for everyone.

"We'd like to tell you Teach's plan," Marco said. Luffy covered his ears at the name. He didn't want to hear anything about the man. He wanted to pretend it had never happened. Jojo took pity on him and said, "Luffy, why don't we go get some yummy food from Thatch while everyone talks about the bad man?"

Luffy nodded and jumped off the bed, trotting over to Jojo and taking her hand. While the Spades, minus Jojo and Luffy, were filled in, the duo headed to the kitchen, where they assumed Thatch was, and even if he wasn't, Jojo felt comfortable enough that he wouldn't get mad at her for using his kitchen.

Thatch wasn't there, so Jojo asked, "Want to help me make some chocolate juice candies?" Luffy nodded, effectively distracted from that night's events. They still had over three hours of nighttime, so it wasn't dinner time yet. The other Spades would come in for food sooner or later.

Jojo got out the ingredients for the plain blood candies and cooked them while Luffy brought her tools and utensils. She was very acquainted with this kitchen by then, so she knew where everything was. Luffy watched the candy harden on the wax sheets, smelling it deeply as they smelled very good and sweet.

It was his turn when Jojo had a small bowl with melted chocolate and had Luffy dip the candies into the chocolate and put them back on the wax sheet. She made quite a lot so it took up more time. Then, she had him put some rock sugar on the top. They were pure sugar honestly.

"Why don't we save some for the other vampires tomorrow night? I'm sure they'd be impressed that you helped with them." Luffy grinned and nodded in agreement. "Now, we have to clean the kitchen," she said, and had Luffy help her tidy things up, and put the clean dishes back in their closets. He may be four, but Luffy wasn't clumsy and had good reflexes, so she trusted him handling glass bowls.

He and Jojo sat at the table as he ate the candies and talked about the fun part of his adventure that night. Luffy made sure that the bad ending didn't ruin the whole thing. That would not be nice if he hated all of it because of the end. "I like my explorer outfit, and everyone was nice when I left the ship. You were hunover, though, so you didn't see it." Jojo knew he didn't mean anything by it, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She knew the others were feeling the same: responsible for this happening since they hadn't been there for their family.

"Jojo, I like people here. Do you like people here?" he wondered.

"I do. I like people and I like this kitchen. It's so big and sparkly. Though, part of me misses my own kitchen," she admitted. "It was cozy, just like the rest of our ship."

Luffy put his finger on his chin for a moment. "I wish I could take my room from our ship and put in here." Jojo looked a bit surprised.

"Does that mean you'd like to stay here for good?" she asked curiously. Luffy thought for a moment before giving a big shrug. Jojo chuckled, wondering what other answer she had been expecting.


	18. Nurturing Sadness and Doubt

**Push23: He deserves it. For all of the shit he's pulled and how unlikable he is. Oda did a good job making him a hated villain.**

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**Feeling sad, both just stopped posting my longest one so far, Sons of Beasts. It had lasted for 7 months and now it's over. Plus I just failed my programming midterm (F-YOU C++). And this fic is getting close to finished as well. Only one chapter left. I'm sad because this was by far my most viewed and followed fanfiction. :( I hope everyone enjoys the ending. This chap is a bit short, but one more after it. Enjoy~**

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No pirate was in a good mood for the next couple of days after setting sail. They all wanted away from this island. Teach was still alive, starving down there. The ship was getting as far from an island as they could so Teach had no possible way of swimming to an island. They were planning on dropping him into the ocean after baiting some sea kings to come over with bloody fish.

The commanders had taken a vote on what to do, a dark vote, and it was decided death by sea king. It would be gruesome, and Luffy most definitely wasn't going to be there to watch. He cringed every time he heard Teach's name, and cried a few times after being reminded of the scary thing that had happened to him. So, no one talked about the betrayal in front of the child. Something that showed progress with Luffy's powers were that he had nightmares, but it never was projected outside of his mind. There was no traitor Teach during the day, showing up after occupying a nightmare by the boy.

With many of the crew feeling depressed and like they'd been living a lie with Teach as a brother, people started to hang out with Luffy. It was like they didn't even notice it. It just made them happy to be around Lu. And he liked the attention a lot. Even more attention than usual! After all, people had been gravitating towards him for over a week. They'd been on the ship a little over three weeks now, and the time flew by for Luffy. And for some of the Spades. Well, most of them.

Everyone noticed that Ace was in a much better mood, and was more open with everyone after Teach's betrayal. This confused many, and some were a bit irked by it, because they didn't know why he was so happy. It had nothing to do with Teach or any of the pirates, really. It was after his crew told him they'd follow him anywhere.

He trusted the others more, that they weren't going to steal away his family, and smiled more often with people _besides _Luffy. Nobody asked him for awhile, not wanting to hear what they thought he'd say and ruin their image of him, but eventually, Izo asked a breakfast a couple days after the incident. Luffy was completely healed, and Sabo only had faint bruising and could speak again.

"Ace, why are you so happy now?" Izo questioned at the bar counter. The few commanders at the table behind them listened in, including Marco. Whitebeard was sleeping, emotionally drained from the betrayal. Well, Teach's execution was tomorrow. He was still down there, starving and dehydrated, but kept alive just barely.

Ace blushed a bit, something he hadn't done that much anymore. Not even around Marco, as he wasn't embarrassed around him, and Marco seemed to do his best to not encourage the blushes and attraction, even if Ace still had a more subtle crush on the vampire.

"My crew told me they'd always stick with us," Ace answered vaguely. Izo asked for clarification. Ace blushed even deeper, though the vampires could tell it wasn't attraction, but probably shyness. "I asked them if they would choose to stay here or come with us."

"They said they'd come with us!" Luffy chirped between bites.

Izo smiled. It was cute, and made Ace look away in embarrassment. "And would you stay here?" Izo asked. Ace's face fell, and Izo was worried he'd said something that would have been better left unsaid. The commanders at the table behind listened quietly, wanting to know the answer. They all knew they wanted the Spades to join.

Ace just shrugged and said he wasn't sure. Izo didn't turn to Luffy and ask him, not wanting to risk upsetting Ace. But, Luffy spoke anyways. "I want my room to be here. I have a nice room," he said, and began to speak fondly about his favorite place.

"Well, I'm sure we could remodel a storage room to match yours, Luffy, if you all stay," Marco said from the table. Luffy's jaw dropped, like he hadn't had that thought before. He was only thinking he wanted to magically move his room to this ship. "I don't know if we stay yet." The others smiled, as this meant that the Spades were considering. They had all worried so unnecessarily about them taking Teach's attack personally. Thankfully, they were wrong.

"Well, take your time in deciding," Marco replied. "You still have a few weeks from now to decide before reaching Water 7. Lots of time to think about it. Oh, and Jojo, you have reached a status none of us have," the commander said with a grin. Jojo looked at him questioningly. "Thatch thinks highly of you enough to not get upset for being in is kitchen without him."

Luffy looked surprised. "That's right! Me and Jojo made candies and Thatch didn't get mad." Jojo chuckled.

"Lovesick puppy," she muttered with an amused smile. The pirates around laughed, glad Jojo didn't find Thatch's crush negative. No one was sure if she liked him back, but they didn't ask. And Thatch hadn't asked either, just enjoying her company while she was there, and hoping she and her crew would stay for good.

-x-

Everyone but Luffy and Deuce stood out on deck, in the middle of the night. The pirates and Spades stood at the railing, or behind those who stood at the railing, tallest in the back so everyone could see down into the ocean.

A completely beaten and burned Teach was tied up and on a small raft. It was his execution and he was shouting profanities and insults almost the whole time. No one found it entertaining and no one took particular joy in this. Satisfaction maybe, that he would get his comeuppance, but no one found this fun.

Ace and Sabo had been able to take out their revenge on what the man did to Luffy, but hadn't beaten him so bad he'd died. It had been a side no one on the ship had seen them before. Like they were feral, and not the polite and composed kind people everyone knew they were. But, this was a special scenario.

Jozu threw bloodied fish and sea mammals into the water, and it wasn't long before a sea king was there. One of the smaller sized ones, but a sea king nonetheless. Teach couldn't defend himself and was eaten in one bite. No one cheered, no one smiled. They just slowly dispersed, humans going to bed and vampires going inside to drink themselves asleep.

The Spades who were on deck went inside, feeling bad for all of the pirates. Ace and Sabo agreed that the crew would do good with a little dash of Luffy. The seven of them went to their room to retrieve the boy, who was building blocks with Deuce. They were real blocks, made of wood from the shipwrights so the toys wouldn't disappear after a certain amount of time.

"Ace, Sabo!" Luffy cheered. "Look at all my toys." The two had been there when he got them, earlier that night before the execution, but they smiled and said that they were very cool anyway.

Deuce asked, "How'd it go?"

"As planned," Sabo replied. That was enough for Deuce to be caught up. "Lu, some people are feeling sad. Do you want to go help them feel better?" Luffy stood up, making sure his block city was secure, and hurried to his trunk at the end of his bed to put his socks and shoes on, as he was barefoot in the room.

"I'll help," he said, and walked out with his brothers and his crew. They all dispersed, going to do their own activities or plans they had made with someone else. It didn't bother Ace anymore because they made it very clear that they would go with the brothers, no matter what their decision was.

Every person Luffy passed, he gave a different colored type of flower. "Feel better, 'kay?" he would say, and felt each smile he got was a win. Once he got tired of handing out flowers, he started handing out random things. Things he thought were valuable. They weren't to other people, like a toy, or something alive, or when he started handing out boxes of bandaids. But, it was the thought that counted for the pirates. After all, it didn't matter what they were given, as everything would disappear anyways.

By the time they were back in the galley, the ship was a bit lighter. He gave the commanders who were awake random things and told them to feel better and to smile. It touched the pirates that Ace and Sabo were letting Luffy go around and try to comfort people. It wasn't just Luffy that did the comforting, it was that they allowed him to. Just a couple weeks ago, they wouldn't have even thought about letting others interact with Luffy to feel happier.

-x-

When the three brothers and Deuce left the galley, most of the commanders who were still awake smiled at their backs. They chuckled when a pirate vampire coming into the galley was confused by being given a live frog, and Luffy just walking off.

"They're good kids," Izo said fondly. "I do hope they'll stay." Many of the commanders nodded in agreement, and even Kingdew wasn't angry or wary of Luffy anymore. He wasn't good with kids, but he didn't dislike the kid like he had not long ago.

Haruta turned to Marco, who was sipping blood from his glass, with just a dash of alcohol in it. "So did anything happen between you and Ace? He doesn't act as awkward around you than he did."

Thatch whistled and gave the first mate some wiggly eyebrows. Marco just sighed at that, but told the truth. "He came to me that day and apologized for his feelings. I told him I had already known and didn't think he was disgusting or stupid or anything like that. It seemed to do the trick for the most part. I do still think he has an attraction to me, but things are much more comfortable to be around him. Not that I was ever uncomfortable in the first place, but he was. Being upfront and honest was the right way to go."

Thatch and Izo pouted at the news that nothing had happened behind the scenes. Marco's warning to them was still in effect, but they wanted Marco to be happy with someone. And maybe it wasn't with Ace, but it would sure be cute if it was.

"So, Thatch. Anything new with Jojo?" Vista asked. Thatch doned the dreamy smile and gushed about her. It was always mostly the same things, but it was entertaining anyways.

Whitebeard laughed at his children, hoping that the Spades would stay because they had a good effect on everyone and they were damn likable. He wanted to keep them indefinitely. They had even distracted Whitebeard from the death of someone he once called a son. The brothers and their crew were good for the pirates, over all. How lucky it had been that Marco saw their SOS signal when no one else had.

They each heard a loud thud and call of Ace's name, the vampires able to hear snoring. Ace had had a sleep attack.


	19. The Final Choice

**Ocii99: Thank you! That's so sweet! Sadly, this is the last chapter, but thanks for reading it to the end!**

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**And here we are, the end of my most popular fanfic. :( I just started posting another one that has heavy Marco/Ace in case this one was too one sided. Thank you for all of the views, reviews, favorites and follows. I hope you enjoy the last chapter.**

**Also, readers in countries where coronavirus is running rampant, be safe. Take care of yourselves. **

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With everything with Teach being over, and the crew being themselves again, Luffy was practicing more. He was determined to make people, but they were unable to stay too long, so he started making babies and toddlers. Of course, they couldn't function correctly because Luffy's anatomy of them was so off, but it was practice nonetheless.

Luffy's babies' heads were too big for them to stand, and it was annoying that they cried a lot, but the brothers convinced themselves that it was progress, even if it was annoying, and so progress should be encouraged. The babies and toddlers lasted for fifteen minutes, more than the versions of Luffy had been. So, age mattered in this department.

Aggie 68 had made a comment that got the brothers wondering if Luffy's powers could better help the pirates, if they stayed, of course, which they weren't sure of yet. But, if Luffy was able to create full human bodies, the medical staff could practice things. If Luffy's people creating became so good and accurate, then it was possible that they could become dummies, and the nurses could test out medications on them instead of only doing it for Marco, who could heal if any of the drugs did something bad.

It was hard, though, to make new medications using Marco as the test subject, as he wasn't human and had a devil fruit, but it was the best they had. So, Luffy's powers could become very valuable to them.

Thatch also had the idea that Luffy could help him with creating new dishes. He wouldn't need to waste food trying out new things. It wasn't known if Luffy's creations were edible, as in if they did anything to the body after they vanished, but taste testing would be convenient.

The more mischievous pirates thought about the fact that they could have Luffy make some money, buy something and ditch before the money vanished, effectively robbing someone without them knowing. This was looked down on by Marco, but it was a good idea.

The pirates were sure that if they brought up these thoughts to Ace and Sabo, they would have enough trust in the crew that they wouldn't assume that they only wanted to keep Luffy so he could do services for them. Well, hopefully.

The pirates had gotten used to floods of animals, sometimes puppies and sometimes other things, so they weren't shocked or freaked out about their appearances. There had been one more nightmare, but it was handled well. Everyone just ignored them, and they were gone early, with someone going to wake the boy up.

Luffy's happiness seemed to be infectious, and could now get away with anything. Thatch and Haruta looked forward to them joining -because they _had to! - _so that little Luffy could help them play pranks on their family. After all, dumping _temporary _paint on someone didn't warrant punishment, right?

On the fifth night of Luffy practicing babies, help from Sabo from an anatomy book and a pediatrician's encyclopedia, he finally made one that functioned. They were on the back deck, and the baby was good enough to crawl. Luffy has scooped it up and started running around the ship and showing people his baby.

They were very confused unless they were those who were awake when Luffy was and knew what he'd been practicing lately. Luffy knew it was only a matter of time before the baby disappeared, as it cooed and giggled at running around. The boy zipped inside, too fast for his human brothers to follow, and shoved the sudden baby into Marco's back as he sat at the table.

Izo said, "Uh, why do you have a baby, Luffy?"

"I made him! Watch!" and the boy set the baby down, who started to crawl around. Luffy looked up to the pirates, his favorite ones, with a grin, expecting praise, which was what he got. It disappeared, and Luffy felt very accomplished and successful. Ace and Sabo had caught up, and Ace threw Luffy into the air.

"I'm so proud of you," he said and hugged Luffy. "Why don't we ask Thatch and Jojo for some celebratory sweets?"

"Yeah!" Of course, Jojo and Thatch were glad to help celebrate Luffy's progress. He got chocolate-blood lava cake. Jojo was spending more time with Thatch and his sou-chefs, learning and teaching. There were multiple dishes that only came from Jojo's home island, and she was more than happy to teach Thatch how to make them and was happy to have the human pirates taste them. She smiled when her home island's food was praised.

-x-

The first marine attack they'd had since the Spade's had boarded was over quickly. It was during the day, and making quite the ruckass. No one wanted to wake Luffy, so they defeated them as quietly and quickly as possible. It must have seemed weird to the marines that none of the pirates shouted or said anything. They were all silent besides the clangs of swords and sounds of gunfire. Luckily, nothing happened to the ship attached to the back of the Moby. it was untargeted, but did get the marines curious. Too bad they were dead before they could report anything unusual with the Whitebeards.

Marco personally inspected the Spade's ship for any marines. He didn't need to go inside because he could use his haki to tell instantly, but for once, his curiosity got the better of him, and he went inside. It was dusty from being uninhabited for so long. It was much smaller than the Moby Dick, and there were only a few bedrooms. One was Ace and Sabo's, which they shared, though it didn't look very lived in. He had gone inside briefly weeks before, but he hadn't allowed himself to explore and there had been no reason to the last time.

Another bedroom had hammocks for the six Spades that weren't brothers. Seemed Jojo had been sharing quarters with her crew long before they were forced into one bedroom with a bunch of bunk beds.

It was clear which bedroom was Luffy's, as it was the most detailed and lived in. There were many books on a big shelf, the bed was clearly expensive, and much nicer than the ones the brothers shared now. There were toys scattered about, some of them old enough to show chew marks on them from when Luffy was very young. There was also an expensive looking nightlight that projected stars around the room.

Some clothes were on the carpeted floor, not just Luffy's, showing that at least one of the older brothers had slept with Luffy on his big bed.

The further he got into the ship, heading towards the galley and kitchen, the more lived in it looked. There were photos stuck to the wall, many of them photos of Ace and Sabo with Luffy at various ages. It warmed Marco's heart with how much love was in each group photo. The earliest was one dated over four years ago, titled, "_Luffy's first bath" _with the baby looking sleepy in a floaty in a nice sized tub. It wasn't the tub on the ship, so it must have been from their house back on their home island.

There were a couple photos that took place before Luffy was born, with the older two holding up dead animals, probably things they had hunted, and there was even one of Ace and Sabo when they were children. Ace looked very similar to Luffy back then, while Sabo was the odd one out with the blonde hair.

Marco noticed there were no photos of their mother, or any woman besides Jojo. The pirate chuckled when there were drawings on the refrigerator in the small kitchen that were just scribbles or messily drawn shapes.

You could tell that it wasn't a rich crew based on the furniture in the galley, which also had an area to just chill. A ratty couch and a coffee table that didn't match any of the other tables. Everything was bolted to the ground for good measure. By now, Marco was just being nosey when he looked in the kitchen cupboards and saw almost everything was plastic.

There were more photos in here, as well, though it wasn't just the brothers. There were group photos, one picture that was clearly taken without Ace's will, as it was a photo of him retching into the toilet, trying to shove the camera away. Marco could only assume Luffy had taken the photo as it was both upside down and at a low height perspective. Marco chuckled again at a photo of a younger Luffy looking proud and pointing to a kid's toilet. It read, "_Luffy's Successful Potty Training!"_

All of these photos warmed Marco's unbeating heart. He didn't think it was possible, but after all the photos, he liked the Spades even more now. He loved how much Ace and Sabo cared about Luffy. He was clearly their whole world. It was still amazing that two fourteen year old kids raised a baby that had never existed before. How many failures did they make to learn the right?

Suddenly, he was immensely curious about their past lives. Not just what happened to their mother, but their childhoods. Maybe, once they joined the crew for good, they would share their pasts. Marco wouldn't bring this up, not wanting them to be upset with him going through their ship.

He left the ship quickly after that, and hadn't told anyone he was checking it out, so no one saw him enter. Whitebeard asked him why he was smiling when the vampire saw him later that day. "Pops, I really want the Spades to join," he confessed. Whitebeard looked at him curiously. He already knew Marco wanted them to join, but right now he sounded insistent.

"Did something happen?" the captain asked curiously. Marco nodded.

"I went on their ship. Pops, they're such a close family. There are photos of Luffy everywhere, his first bath, his first successful potty training, photos of them and their growing crew. I just… they're good people. I know you already know that. I really hope they choose to stick around," Marco said. "I'll be very sad if they don't."

"I think most of your siblings will feel the same. Why did you go on their ship?" Usually Marco wasn't a very curious person, was usually chill.

"Well, there was a marine attack, and I wanted to make sure none had snuck onto the Spades' ship. I got a bit nosy, but I didn't dig through drawers or anything. Jojo's kitchen was very small compared to ours. Honestly, their ship is a lot more warm and cozy feeling than ours." He sounded surprised with the fact as well. "It's much too small for you to go on, though."

"Do you think their ship will be a deciding vote? If it isn't fixable, that they'd choose us because they have no other place to go? Or if the ship is able to be repaired, would they choose the ship over us?" Whitebeard asked curiously. Marco shrugged, and didn't know what the outcome would be. Again, he hoped the outcome would be him gaining nine new family members.

-x-

Luffy laid in bed, extremely sleepy after a long night of practicing with older toddlers now. He was determined to be able to make people. He had his thumb in his mouth, eyes droopy and closed quickly.

"...Ace… Sabo… can we stay here...?" he mumbled before falling asleep, not getting his answer. The Spades had all heard him, and shared a look.

There was silence for a moment, before Sabo said, "Let's talk about that tomorrow night." They all agreed, most of them already had an answer and were looking for the opinions of their captains. It was their vote whether they stayed or not. And like they'd made clear, the crew would follow their captains and their sunshine anywhere.

The next evening, after Luffy woke up, he had forgotten about his question he'd asked last morning. Ace and Sabo had been awake before Luffy, talking to each other in whispers. Everyone else was still asleep, but both teens had had a lot to think about and lost some sleep because of it.

"Mornin'," Luffy said and hugged Ace and Sabo's arms tightly. Ace ruffled his hair and Sabo smiled.

"Morning, Lu. Do you remember what you asked last night?" Sabo questioned. Luffy shook his head and popped his thumb in his mouth, expecting to be told what he had forgotten. Instead, Sabo asked him a question. "Would you like to stay with the Whitebeards, and not return to our ship?"

Luffy looked uncertain. He did miss home, but he really liked it here. He got to be with both of his brothers at the same time, there were lots of people to play with, the food was delicious and his family seemed happy. Jojo and Aggie 68 were always smiling and had good friends here. Plus, Ace liked Marco, and Luffy wanted Ace to be happy.

He listed all of these reasons, making Ace a little embarrassed that his fantasy romance was a factor in Luffy's decision. "Lu, it'll probably never work out with me and Marco, so don't make that one of your deciding decisions."

"You don't know that," he chirped brightly. Ace just smiled and humored him, wanting to move on from that subject.

"Everyone, wakey wakey," Ace said loud enough for the others to wake up in a startle. "We have some talking to do before we leave this room." Everyone knew what conversation they'd be having, and gathered on the bottom bunks or on the floor and leaning against the bed frames.

"Some pros and cons about staying or leaving once our ship is fixed, or if we have to have it replaced," Sabo instructed. "Deuce, what do you think?"

"Hmm, well, I like the people on this crew. There's good food, protection, and chances to become even stronger with this crew. Less responsibility, y'know, not having to help run the ship ourselves. We're in the Grand Line now, and won't be leaving any time soon, so I think it's pretty safe to stay here.

"My biggest pro, is that I've gotten to spend time with your three that I haven't been able to when we were on our own."

"Cons?" Ace prodded.

"Loss of freedom of choice of when and where to go. Loss of status, having a different captain. That's all my cons." Jojo was next, and mostly said what Deuce had.

"Plus, I would miss Thatch if we left," she said with a smile.

"We both really like the people we've met here. Being able to drink some booze again is nice, to be honest. Hadn't known I've missed it until now! A con for me is also loss of status and importance. I don't want to just fade away into a nobody in this crew," Zeno said.

Sparky agreed, and added, "I love our home ship, but I do enjoy the space here. And there's a training room and weapons room. I think Deuce is right; that we can get a lot stronger while being on this ship."

Sabo and Ace turned to Aggie68. "My biggest pro would definitely be the medical equipment available here. Plus, there's still more to learn about vampire anatomy and such things that could help Luffy.

"I don't hang out with everyone like many of you do, but I do enjoy being around other health practitioners and learning more. And my size is accommodated here. I honestly don't have any cons. Jojo already makes us fantastic food. And I think that having this family would be good for you and Ace. I really do. Just in the last couple of weeks, you've grown trust in others that you didn't hand pick and I think that says a lot about the emotional environment here."

The crew were surprised to have him say such a long monologue. Usually, Aggie was one of the more quiet ones. Ace and Sabo couldn't help but have their cheeks turn pink slightly. But he was right, though they didn't voice that.

Saber was next. "I can't, in good faith, navigate the Grand Line yet. I will need much more practice and hands on training. That overrides all of my negative thoughts. I won't let it be my fault we all die in this sea." He sounded very serious. "However, if we do choose to not join, I want to spend more time on an island studying about weather and sea patterns here."

Everyone then turned to Luffy. "I wanna stay!" was all he said, throwing a hand up like they were taking a vote already. "Does Ace and Sabo?" he asked, holding onto their arms.

"I will miss being a captain, but nothing is more important to me than spending time with Luffy and Ace, together with the rest of my family. I'll also feel so, _so, _much safer here, knowing that Luffy can be protected and have his power nurtured someplace safe. And he finally met some good vampires. I know we would all miss some on this crew as well," Sabo said.

Ace was last to say anything, and instead of saying his pros and cons, which had been the same as many of his family, he said, "All in favor of joining?" Everyone raised their hands, Luffy's having already been in the air.

The freckled teen hadn't said his main con: he felt he needed to at least share what he'd done with the captain, and was scared that he wouldn't accept him. But he needed to share it with him. Before he called the man father, he _had to_ tell him the truth.

"What do we do about home?" Luffy wondered.

"Well, we'll have to go move all of our things. We can donate the ship for scraps, or sell it, or let it burn and end our journey as we start on another," Deuce said.

"Didn't know you were a poet, Deuce," Ace teased. Luffy giggled. Everybody was gonna be so happy that they were staying, since people kept saying they wanted them to stay. Luffy heard them all say it multiple times, but his family might not have been able to hear.

Jojo spoke, "Luffy, make sure you don't tell Thatch what I said about him. I want to see how long he'll continue to flounder around before asking me out." The others chuckled, but hadn't expected any different.

"Kay, I won't tell. Let's go tell everyone we are staying," Luffy said excitedly.

"Why don't you do the honors, Lu?" Ace offered. Luffy cheered and accepted.

"I have to dress nice for the ocajin," the boy announced. He went into the trunk that had all of the outfits Izo had made a couple weeks ago. He threw the outfits he didn't want out until he settled on the little tux, but with the child captain's coat on as well. "How I look?" he asked, putting his arms out. He'd needed help putting the tux on.

"You look ready for a good announcement. C'mon let's go make everyone happy," Sabo said with a grin.

-x-

The vampire commanders, captain and just a few human commanders were in the galley at the moment. The Spades came in later than usual due to their vote. When Luffy came zipping inside in a cute costume, all fond eyes turned to him while he made a beeline for the captain. He patted his leg twice.

"I gotta tell you something!" he shouted. Whitebeard laughed and picked Luffy up, the little boy sitting in his palms.

"What is it?" Whitebeard asked with a grin.

"We want you to be papa!" Luffy announced, throwing his hands up. Whitebeard made sure that Luffy was speaking for all of them, which he replied with a vigorous nod of his head. The room erupted into cheers, making Luffy giggle happily. "I had to dress up for the special annoucment," he explained.

The rest of the Spades - former Spades - came in and were hugged by the pirates they'd made friends with. It turned out that when Luffy was feeling extremely happy, his signature puppies were formed and ran around, soaking up the room's excitement.

-x-

During everyone's immediate celebration and cheering, the commanders all the happiest of the pirates, Ace walked up to Whitebeard, looking significantly different than his family. He looked scared, and Whitebeard was worried about what was wrong. Had he changed his mind?

"What is it, Ace?" Whitebeard asked. Luffy was running around a few yards away.

"Before we officially join, I have to tell you something. Ju-Just you and me," Ace said nervously, his eyes flicking to Marco uncertainly. He didn't want Marco to hate him for what he did. Whitebeard nodded sagely, having a feeling Ace was too nervous to eat any breakfast.

"Alright, why don't we go now?" Whitebeard offered kindly, knowing Ace was stressing about whatever he felt he had to tell the captain. There was no need to worry, nothing of Ace's past would make him reject the teen. Not after everything and that all of the commanders, who had great judgement, trusted him. Well, Teach was the only exception.

Ace and Whitebeard walked to Whitebeard's room, a place no one went to besides the commanders and himself, so they wouldn't be overheard. Ace walked inside first, and was clearly very nervous, something Whitebeard hadn't seen of him before. As he stood now, wringing his hands, he looked so young. "Now, what is it, son?"

"I have to tell you about what happened about my m-mom," Ace replied. Whitebeard gave him a reassuring "go ahead" smile, and listened as Ace confessed what he'd had to do and what had lead up to it. And they had all been right. The experience the boys, especially Ace, had to go through with their mother was horrific, and it was a wonder that Ace trusted any of the vampires aboard the Moby.

"I… she would have killed Luffy, and never would have forgiven herself if she did that, and she didn't want to be a vampire," Ace stuttered, expecting Whitebeard to shun or shame him for the desperate actions. Whitebeard stood and walked to him, and kneeled down in front of his new son.

"You did what your mother begged you to do. You saved Luffy, and you didn't kill her because some sick part of you wanted to. It was a horrible, horrible situation, and you saved Luffy. No one on this ship would shun or shame you for what you had to do. I swear, none of us would see you any different, but I will not tell anyone else unless you want me to," Whitebeard said emphatically.

"You won't tell Marco?"

"No, this is business between you and me. If you ever want to tell Marco, he won't see you any different than he already does. Now, will you take my mark and join my family?" Whitebeard asked with a grin. Ace nodded, tears down his cheeks. "Welcome to the family, son."

-x-

Just the next day, even before anyone had moved the former Spade crew's things, they had decided to take the marks. Luffy, of course, was too young for a tattoo and instead had Izo and Deuce embroider the mark onto his clothes. He'd be going shopping with them on whatever island they arrived at next, as they were no longer needing to go to Water 7 to repair the ship that Ace and Sabo had decided to burn. Send off their good memories and previous adventure, like Deuce had said.

Ace, already walking around shirtless normally, chose to get the jolly roger on his back, where everyone can see it. Since Sabo wore long sleeve clothes most of the time, it was difficult for him to choose, but he chose his chest, and would just keep a few of the top buttons open on his usual dress shirts. Jojo and Deuce got theirs on their shoulders. Aggie 68 got his on his arm, while Zeno, Sparky and Saber chose to have theirs on one of their calves, since they all usually wore shorts or short pants.

The Spades had already assimilated easily, so the only step that was left was changing their titles. They were all sons, brothers and a sister now. Luffy didn't call Whitebeard Pops, but instead papa and no one tried to get him to change. It was too cute. Aggie68 got to officially join the medical division, which the nurses had been wanting since the beginning. He was very happy about that. Jojo insisted that she still be a chef, and didn't like being called the sou-chef, so Thatch agreed to let them share the duties. It was hard for him to decide, but after he did it felt nice knowing that not everything was on him to do.

When it came to what division they would be divided into, they had requested not all in the same, which surprised the other pirates. "We want to integrate more into the family. We may share rooms still, but we want to be a bigger part. We've all decided. _But _me, Sabo, and Luffy will be in the same division no matter what you say."

Whitebeard laughed. "I wasn't planning any different, my boys."

So, Aggie 68 went under Marco, who had the nurses in his division as he was technically a certified doctor as well. Jojo was under Jozu (much to Thatch's annoyance), Zeno and Sparky were under Fossa, Deuce was under Izo, and the three youngest on the ship were part of Vista's division.

Ace and Sabo's main duties given to them were to teach Luffy control, and they'd be with him everywhere because they were both basically his parents, and he was only four. He still needed constant supervision and the older brothers would not have been happy if they were ordered to separate.

Literally, two days after the newbys had their tattoos, or new clothes in Luffy's case, Thatch and Haruta stole Luffy away for an hour to go around pranking everyone. When Luffy was asked to take part, the boy had said, "I did a prank before! One time, it was Sabo's birthday and we were making a cake and I put a estra candle in it and he didn't notice," the four year old bragged, proud of his "prank".

Thatch cooed about how cute it was, and replied, "Well, that is a very serious prank. I don't think any of ours have been that good. For now, we're just going to dump some temporary paint on some unsuspecting pirates." Luffy cheered, and from then on was the pranksters' supplier. But, no one could get mad at Luffy. It was just wrong, so he was safe from rage. After all, his creations were never harmful and always disappeared after a certain amount of time.

Ace and Sabo adored Whitebeard, like many of his sons did. After Ace told Sabo about the captain's reaction to their very tragic story, they couldn't admire anyone more than him. And the man soaked up the attention.

Ace and Sabo had always felt bad for Luffy not having a mother, but now they were at peace knowing he had a father and a loving, very large family to protect and nurture him. Ace and Sabo had also had their dream fulfilled, even if it wasn't how they thought it would turn out. They were pirates, just not captains anymore. It was hard to get used to being under someone else, but they did. There was no going back, not that they wanted to.

Everyone agreed to transform one of the extra storage rooms into a bedroom for Luffy and his two brothers. The vampires and former Spades renovated the room to match Luffy's completely. They moved all of the furniture and belongings, along with all of the photos that the newbys still didn't know Marco had seen.

The Moby Dick quickly became home. They said goodbye to their old home by sending her off in fire. An honorable end for an East Blue ship that managed to get itself stuck in the Grand Line and survive being towed for over a month. But, they had a new home and bigger family now, and so didn't miss their old ship as much as they thought they would.

-x-

Ace and Sabo had only had one goal after Luffy was born: raise him and make sure he's loved. They hadn't ever put themselves in a goal. Their goal was never for themselves to be happy. It was all for Luffy. But, on the Whitebeard's crew, they were able to have both. They were raising Luffy, still his big brothers, but they could now be happy themselves. It worked out for everyone, and Ace would always be grateful for the stupid dolphin that destroyed the ship's rudder.

The End


End file.
